Shared Heart King

I made a commitment to my wife over 25 years ago that I would be faithful to her until death separates us. I have kept that commitment. I also have a commitment to my children to care for them, protect them and provide for them while they are young.  I was challenged many years ago to think of the people you’d like to have in your hospital room if you knew you were about to die.  That is the people whom you love the deepest and therefore should be a huge priority in my day-to-day life.

I also made a commitment to the Lord when I was in third grade. I reaffirmed that commitment again as a freshman in college. I decided to follow the Lord the rest of my life. I decided that I would make Him King of my heart. The more I got to know the Lord has King of my heart, the more I realized it was easier said than done. My family is alive and physically present while the Lord is Spirit though Present everywhere.

The people of Israel & Judah had promised to make the Lord King of their heart. They broke that promise more than once. The Lord got so frustrated and angry with them that He punished them and allowed them to be taken in captivity by their enemies. Even when things were bad, the people did not return to the Lord. Ezekiel was shown how the Lord’s jealousy is real. Check this out….

Then the Spirit lifted me up into the sky and transported me to Jerusalem in a vision from God. I was taken to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the Temple, where there is a large idol that has made the Lord very jealous.⁴ Suddenly, the glory of the God of Israel was there, just as I had seen it before in the valley. (Ezekiel 8:3b-4 NLT)

The Spirit continued to show Ezekiel other detestable practices of the people of Israel and Judah.  The Lord promises punishment for their profound sin and their allegiance to other gods.

This reminded me to look at the idols of my heart. An idol of my heart is anything that gets in front of God as the King of my heart. I will admit that my wife and children are a close second to my commitment to the Lord. There have been times that I’ve put them ahead of the Lord. I have to remember that ALL I HAVE is a gift from the Lord – including my beautiful and amazing family.  There have been other times when success gets in front of my family and even my relationship with God. Success usually means financial gain, fame and notoriety. These are incredibly attractive and welcomed when they arrive, but they should never replace the Lord as King of my heart. He is the GIVER OF ALL GOOD THINGS.

I believe it’s incredibly important to check my priorities daily to make sure the order of my heart’s allegiance is in property sequence.  Jesus spoke to this as He was explaining to His disciples the cost of following Him. Check this out….

³⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. ³⁶ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? ³⁷ Is anything worth more than your soul? (Mark 8:35-37 NLT)

The bottom line is that the Lord is to be King of my heart – all by Himself. He blesses me with family, success and all that I have. He walks with me through suffering and struggle. His Presence in my life is a “perspective changer”. When I look through the lens of the Lord, I see this life as preparation for eternal life. This life is NOT all there is. I have hope for eternity and that makes this life look considerably different.

Pressing On!

Dwayne