Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart. Psalm 119: 1-2
Am I a whole hearted or a half hearted person?
This is a question I have been asking myself of late.
By whole hearted, I mean do I find something worthy and give it my all? Realizing truly what in life has worth and what does not. Realizing fully the value of my time here and the value of what God has done for me? What have I done with what I have been given?
Do I intentionally choose that which matters just now or for all eternity and give my all or do I parcel out pieces of my time, focus, and energy and hoard the rest of my heart. Place it on a shelf of observing and safety.
Do I give freely and lavishly or do I hoard and hide?
Do I keep and save or give with no thought of the return for myself?
Why do we do what we do? Do we act out of selfish ambition, apathy, and self protection or because we believe in something greater than ourselves?
Do we give because it is better to give than receive or give because we are expected to and thus give just enough to get by? Do we hope for more to come back then what we gave in because getting less than what we gave feels unfair or like failure when the expectation flops? Was what we gave worth less than what we thought? Are WE worth less than we thought?
Giving our all, hurts. Giving our all, is costly. Giving everything we have, all of our love and hopes and dreams sounds like risk.
Do we give to get? Or do we give just to give, simply because the thing we are giving to is worth giving our all for?
Are we a half hearted people or whole hearted? Are we an “all in” people living an “all the way” kind of life?
Do we seek with our whole heart or just a part?
Do we give just a piece because we are scared?
Afraid that our investment won’t count so we trial and test throughout our lives while never diving in? Do we fear that what we do won’t matter in the end so we don’t start in the first place? Do we fear that our hearts and hopes will be rejected and crushed so it’s safer to give a piece instead of our all?
Many of us have experienced crushing of the heart in our past. Where we DID give it our all and it didn’t work out. We were crushed, rejected, and hurt beyond belief.
It’s hard to imagine putting ourselves in that position again.
Being whole hearted not only seems risky. It seems unwise. It seems like a recipe for pain. And that’s why many of us don’t.
But the thing about being half hearted is that our hearts were never meant to be divided. They were always meant to stay whole, to be given in full, as one piece. Being half hearted feels like being half of ourselves. Being half hearted feels like experiencing half of life. And half can feel like nothing at all. We were never meant to be half or nothing. We were always meant to be whole and full.
What stops us from being whole hearted? What stops us from LIVING whole heartedly?
Would we rather divide and give pieces away to many things in case our investment doesn’t pan out? Or do we push it all in for something we know to be worthwhile and true, regardless of the results.
Do we divide our heart and mind with many things? Giving pieces more freely than we aught? Or do we choose wisely.
Cautiously?
Purposefully?
Intentionally?
Do we choose something of value that will last? Something that is deserving? Do we commit our hearts to something that commits to us, to keep and guard our investment, knowing the value and the price of a full hearted life?
Guard your heart.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it proverbs.” 4:23
Are we whole hearted in our relationships?
In our jobs?
In our relationship with God?
In our service to him?
Or are we afraid?
Afraid of man and their opinions and afraid of God letting us down? So we hold our hearts back from people, from things that matter…from God.
Jesus doesn’t ask for half. He asks for our all. He asks for our lives in full because he gave everything for us. He went all in and gave everything so that we might experience everything, Him. We don’t receive that by being half way ourselves. We can only experience all of Him when we give all of us.
He knows you and I better than we know ourselves. He knows we were meant to have whole hearts in service and devotion. That we cannot maintain a life of half hearted endeavors without feeling empty, broken and in pieces.
He asks for our whole heart and for it to be given to him because he knows that a half hearted life is no life at all.
He knows that the safest place for your whole heart is not at the mercy of those who will not value it or placed in material things which have no heart at all.
It must belong to him to be safe.
The creator of our hearts knows its’ value the most and how to keep it best.
Safe, cherished, and loved for eternity.
Give your whole heart to the one who makes us whole. Who understands its’ value and loves you beyond measure.
Give Him your time.
Give Him your mind.
Give Him your service.
Give Him your love.
Give Him your hopes and fears.
Give Him your dreams.
Give Him your heart. Broken and divided. Shambles and pieces.
He will give you a new heart so that you may live a whole hearted, undivided life for Him.
Meet Me on the Mountain
By Jill Briscoe
Have you met Him at the lakeside
Did you hear His still, small voice?
Did He call you there to follow Him,
And said, “You have a choice”?
And did half of you say, “Yes, Lord,”
And have half a mind to start?
Did you think He didn’t notice
When you gave Him half your heart?
He saw it on the day
He met disciples on the mount;
And gave them all another chance
to make their whole lives count.
Some said that day, “What comes
my way, Oh, Lord, I’ll do my part,
Dear Lord, I’ll be obedient
and give you all my heart!”
I’ll love for you and speak for truth
and tell the Gospel story
I’ll live from this day forward
to give you all the glory.
Where e’er you send me—use me send me—
I will speak for you,
Help me glorify your name—be with me—
see me through!
So as we leave the mountain top
Will you go for Him or stay?
Continue on half-heartedly
or give it all away?
Will you yield yourself from this day on
Receive the Spirit’s call?
Say Jesus, “I give all to you,
Not half my heart—MY ALL!”