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Day Seven
An Undivided Heart
Scripture: Psalm 86:11; Ezekiel 11:19; Romans 12:1–2
My default mode when I am feeling lonely or sad is: attack, do, work, fix, create a step-by-step plan in order to work myself out of my emotional mess. These responses come naturally, and they are great qualities that enable me to lead and accomplish, but when it comes to matters of the heart, they are powerless.
When I open my Bible, every verse, every story, every passage has whispered, Remember.
Remember that you can’t understand your heart.
Remember that you can’t reach into your heart and change it. You can certainly alter behaviors and choose a different course of action, but the true work of sanctification happens only as you respond to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Remember that this is good news, because you have a King who can and, more importantly, willingly does. You are not expected to rule and regulate yourself. Wait on Him.
I find peace as I locate myself once again in the kingdom of God, remembering that I’m safe under the rule and reign of King Jesus.
This is why allegiance matters. It matters because we have a King who is all-good, all-powerful, and all-knowing, a King who cares for us and willingly takes responsibility to shepherd us. It matters because we’re citizens of an unseen country and players in a larger story; we’re not defined or confined by what is happening to us today.
But allegiance also matters because every single day we encounter claims for kingship that will only to lead us into subjugation.
This is why we must consider our allegiances, not just once, when we give our lives to Christ, but every day and in every situation. The process of God making us wholehearted toward him—when our actions, thoughts, and desires align with the truth of who Christ is and what He’s done for us—is ongoing. Wholehearted allegiance grows not as we seek to understand ourselves or take greater agency over our lives but rather as we seek to intimately know and love our King and put to death the decaying things that don’t have a place in his kingdom.
Soon, instead of signs of death, there will be signs of life everywhere.
In what ways are you growing in becoming wholehearted toward God?
About this Plan
Relying on ourselves sounds good. After all, if we just get a little more organized, a little more patient, a little more spiritual, our lives will be better…. Right? In this week’s devotional, Christine Hoover reminds us why relying on ourselves leads us to bow to the false kings of anxiety, control, and self-indulgence. Only when we bring our whole hearts to the true King will we find true satisfaction.
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