Heartbeat

Many plans are in a person’s heart,
but the Lord’s decree will prevail.

— Proverbs 19:21

Do this: Use your index and middle fingers to find your pulse on your throat or wrist. Let your fingers rest in that spot, and leave them there as you read Proverbs 19:21 again.

It’s amazing, isn’t it? Whether you notice it or not, your heart beats involuntarily all day, every day. If you do the math, it’s around 100,000 beats every 24 hours. And if you calculate that over the course of the average human lifespan, it comes out to more than 2.5 billion heartbeats—for no other reason than God created you that way. Your whole life, He gives you a second-by-second biological reminder that you are alive.

Sometimes, we take that life for granted, though, don’t we? Or we give our hearts to temporary things. Is the beat of your heart to advance in your career? Is it to see your kids excel in a sport? Is it to own a certain car or home or live a certain lifestyle? It’s not that those things are sinful, necessarily; it’s that God wants our hearts to be His and His alone. That’s how He created us, and that’s what our beating hearts are meant to remind us. This is the crux of Proverbs 19:21.

You can give your heart to the pursuits it is inclined to chase, and there will be many. But in the end, only God’s purposes will stand. Go ahead and check your pulse again, reading Proverbs 19:21 as you do. Now, consider your answers to these two questions: What are the plans in your heart? What are God’s purposes for the life He’s given you?

• Listen to Matthew West’s “My Why.” What lyrics stand out to you as particularly encouraging? Which stand out to you as challenging?
• What would change in your life this week if your heart were to truly beat for the reasons God created it to?
• Thank God for giving you a second-by-second reminder that He created you to live for His eternal plans and purposes. Ask God to forgive you when your pursuits sidetrack you from His plans and to help you fix your eyes on Him.