June 1: Tuesday Refocus

‘Move, I pray Thee, upon my disordered heart; take away the infirmities of unruly desires and hateful lusts; lift the mists and darkness of unbelief; brighten my soul with the pure light of truth.’ - Valley of Vision

My heart is divided, deceitful, and desperately sick, it springs with life and death (Psalm 86:11, Jeremiah 17:9, Proverbs 4:23, Ezekiel 36:26). The heart is complex, and confusing - who can understand their own heart, much less the heart of another (Jeremiah 17:9. Proverbs 20:24)?

I am incapable of changing my own heart, because I do not have a bad heart that needs to be made better, but a stone heart that needs to be made flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).  And this only occurs from Without, not within.  I am only made alive by the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 2:1-10, John 16:13).

The hope of my heart is not trying harder, being better, doing more, but becoming Christ’s.  I need my heart to be transformed to look like the heart of Christ: gentle and lowly (Matt 11:29).

Lord, make my dead heart alive.  Make my calloused heart tender.  Give me a heart like Yours, Lord Jesus.  In Your name, amen.

Asking,

AB

July 30: Tuesday Refocus

‘Let us desire nothing else,

let us want nothing else,

let nothing else please us and cause us delight except our Creator, Redeemer, and Savior,

the only true God,

Who is the fullness of good,

All good, every good, the true and supreme good,

Who alone is good,

Merciful, gentle, delightful, and sweet,

Who alone is holy,

Just, true, holy, and upright,

Who alone is kind, innocent, clean,

From whom, through whom, and in whom

Is all pardon, all grace, all glory

Of all penitents and just ones,

Of all the blessed rejoicing together in heaven.’ – St Francis of Assisi

There is no end to things we desire.  Some desires are God-given.  All desire has been warped by sin:

‘What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?  Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder.  You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.  You do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spent it on your passions.’ - James 4:1-3

In our sin-distorted desire we love to use Psalm 37:4 as a means to our selfish end: ‘Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.’

But it has never been money, sex or power that we truly desire – but God Himself.  The One who is good and does good (Ps 119:68).  The One who opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing (Ps 145:16).  He is our greatest desire, and this desire is never left unfulfilled because He gives us Himself (1 Tim 2:6).

Lord Jesus, let us desire nothing else, want nothing else, let nothing else please us, and cause us delight except You.  In your name, amen.

Desiring Him,

AB