A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.
— Luke 6:45 (CSV)
InIn order to overcome challenges and problems that come to us, we have to have God’s evidence weighing heavier in our heart than what we see, hear or feel.
The heart is the key; what we believe in our heart is what drives our life. Even though our intellect may agree with what God says, our heart may not be fully persuaded. This is something I didn’t understand for years. I thought as long as I believed what God said intellectually, I had faith. However, consenting and agreeing with God in my mind is not faith in my heart. This was an eye opener for me and something of which I must continually remind myself.
When my first husband got sick, I quoted the scripture over him faithfully, thinking I believed it. Instead of seeing him healed in my heart, l looked for outward changes. When I didn’t see anything, I began to waver thinking maybe the greater good was for us to be examples of persevering, keeping on when things were hard. That is noble, but not what scripture says about Jehovah Rapha, the Healer. I didn’t give up, but I was wavering and compromising His word in my heart without realizing it.
God says He is the Healer. He also says when Jesus cried out, “it is finished” he was saying all that sin brought into the world has been overcome; the debt has been paid in full. Jesus told us to believe, receive and step into what He accomplished for us. I thought I was doing that, but when I look back, I realize my heart was not convinced.
I also begged, telling God all the ways my husband had served him and therefore why he deserved to be healed. That was silly because none of us deserve anything. No matter what we do, we will never be deserving or worthy. However, Jesus has qualified us to receive all these blessings through his death, burial and resurrection. He became me and did what I couldn’t do. It’s silly to beg for something we already have.
What I thought was faith was mental assent only. In my mind, I agreed with what God said, but it was not in my heart. I spent time chasing something that was already mine because I didn’t see it in the natural.
When you get something in your heart, you become immovable. It’s a little tricky because you can become stubborn and confess and shout that what God says is true and you are not going to move. (That was me.) But when you have to do that, it’s a sign you are trying to convince yourself.
Once God’s truth is in your heart, you don’t even have to say it. You just “know” it.
Don’t be afraid to examine your own heart. There is no condemnation, only growth. Some things are easier to accept and believe than others. For example, I have no problem believing that Abba is going to take care of me and provide for me. I just know it. In other areas, it takes longer to persuade my heart so I have to remind myself of the evidence on God’s side. Faith comes when I have evidence. Never give up.
“Gather evidence to establish the beliefs of your heart.”
Evidence Leads To Heart Beliefs