A True Heart, Fully Yielded
When the inner setting changes, the climate follows, Jesus centers the heart and the day takes its cue.
Devotional Credit: His Victorious Indwelling, compiled by Nick Harrison, September 16. Thank you to Andrew Murray and Edward Dennett for today’s insights on the heart that God sees and renews.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Proverbs says that as a person thinks in his heart, so is he. Today’s reading reminds me that the heart is the steering center of a life. Desires and choices flow from it. Outward habits may shine for a while, but the hidden person within sets the real direction. That is why God looks there. He sees past the surface and invites us into the inner sanctuary of His presence where Jesus is our life.
Andrew Murray says the Lord calls us to Himself, and what He first seeks is a true heart. That lands kindly. God is not shopping for polish. He welcomes reality. The new covenant is not about decorating the old self. It is about a new heart supplied by God and shaped by union with Jesus through the Spirit. From that center, worship, obedience, and love become the overflow of His life within.
Edward Dennett adds a needed word. Knowledge in the head alone can puff up. Knowledge in the heart humbles. I have known the difference in my own story. Accumulated facts gave me confidence in myself. Revelation planted in the heart gave me confidence in the Lord. One leads to striving and comparison. The other leads to quiet dependence and joy.
So, on an ordinary Tuesday, the invitation is simple. Yield your real inner self to the Father. Bring your motives into the light. Trust Jesus to be the new center. Let the Holy Spirit write on the tablet of your heart what no rule can produce. From there, life starts to look like Him in the places that matter most.
Journal Entry - Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I search the heart, and I have given you a new one in Jesus. I have taken away the heart of stone and given a heart of flesh. I put My Spirit within you so that you walk in My ways. Draw near with a true heart in full assurance, for your conscience is cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, and your body is presented to Me as a living sacrifice.
Do not be shaped by the pattern of this age. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Let the word of the Messiah dwell richly in you. Christ dwells in your heart through faith, and you are rooted and grounded in love. Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life. Set your mind on the things above where Jesus is seated, and let His peace rule in your heart.
I pour the love of God into your heart. I circumcise your heart by the Spirit, not by the letter. Believe with your heart, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. Out of the good treasure of a renewed heart come words that build up. I strengthen you in the inner person so that you stand firm, blameless in holiness before the Father at the coming of the Lord Jesus. Keep your heart soft today. Do not harden it when you hear My voice. I shine the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in your heart so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in your body.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a home thermostat. You can open a window or wave a fan, and the air shifts for a moment. But the setting on the thermostat quietly decides the climate of the whole house. Adjust the setting, and the rooms follow.
Your heart is that inner setting. White knuckle effort can stir a quick breeze, but it does not change the climate. Yield the heart to the Spirit of Jesus, and the atmosphere of your words and choices begins to match Him. Before answering a hard text or stepping into a tense meeting, pause and say, Lord, I surrender my inner setting to You. Set my heart to Your peace and truth as You speak through me. Then walk in, trusting the Lord to express His patience and honesty as the conversation unfolds.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You for giving me a new heart in Jesus. Thank You that Your Spirit lives within and writes Your desires on the inside. Today I present my whole self to You, true and open. I receive the mind of Christ for my choices, the love of Jesus for my relationships, and the peace of Jesus to rule my inner world. You look on the heart, and by grace You have made mine Your dwelling place. I rest in that gift with gratitude. Amen.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Proverbs 23:7; Proverbs 4:23; Ezekiel 36:26 to 27; Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 10:19 to 22; Romans 12:1 to 2; Ephesians 4:22 to 24; Colossians 3:1 to 3, 15 to 17; Romans 5:5; Romans 2:29; Romans 10:9 to 10; Luke 6:45; Ephesians 3:16 to 17; 1 Thessalonians 3:12 to 13; Hebrews 3:7 to 15; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Psalm 139:23 to 24; Psalm 51:10; 1 Samuel 16:7; Matthew 5:8; Acts 15:8 to 9; Philippians 4:7