Who Am I? Know Self. Know Christ.Sample

Our hearts can be like the hard-packed soil Christ described to His disciples in the Parable of the Sower (Lk. 8). This passage describes the various conditions of the human heart. As we read it, we want to ask the Lord to reveal the condition of our hearts. Trust His gentle ways. Be sensitive to His Spirit. The daily concerns of the world encroach and begin to take root. They threaten to choke out the truth in our hearts like the weeds in a garden. Our hearts may have become hardened by hurt or disappointment. Unresolved concerns in our lives may be wearing us down.

We may wonder why it seems so hard to move beyond some of the thoughts we face day after day. Are our minds returning to the same thoughts? We may even feel stuck. We desire to connect more deeply with God, but maybe something we cannot seem to put our finger on blocks the way. Hurt? Unresolved anger? Fear? Grief? Bitterness? Worry? Discouragement? Doubt? Dread? Any of these, or other thoughts, emotions, or unconfessed sin will impede our growth.

Identifying and acknowledging these is a first step. Confession is the next. And time spent in God’s Word, in reflection, and in prayer will bring light into the darkness, healing to the hurts, and wisdom to confusion. God’s love and His Word, by His Spirit, will break up the soil of our hearts, softening it, in order to make it ready for a focused pursuit of the Lord. Read Psalm 32 and close in prayer.