Heart Failure
Can You Live A Whole Life With A Half Heart?
When I see how much heart some people put into the
things of the world, and see how little heart Christians put into the eternal
things of God, I’m ashamed. It seems that an awful lot of people are obeying
some warped command to love the world with all their heart, soul, mind, and
strength.
The world is full of buying, selling, striving,
competing, bigger, better, faster – it’s an endless race with no lasting
winners. And Christians? Well, they plod along behind
their Master, trying to please Him, but constantly looking over their shoulder
at the things they can’t have anymore – many even scheming about how to get the
“best of both worlds”.
Then, to top it off, we’re surprised when God
doesn’t use us and wonder if it’s all worth the effort. What so many Christians
have lost sight of is the simple fact that God absolutely instructs us, over
and over, that we must follow Him with
all of our heart! Right now, can you say you’re doing that?
When I was eighteen, I met a Christian at a conference who changed my life. I couldn’t understand what it was about this woman that made her so different. The Lord seemed to talk to her in very real ways, and He specifically guided her in her daily life. After seeing what God was doing in and through her, I realized she was holding a basket of fruit so full it was overflowing onto the floor. And me? I looked down at my basket, empty, except for a few dry leaves. Why was she so different? “I’m a Christian, too” I thought. “I read my Bible. I believe in God. I’m not doing anything wrong.” I asked her if we could talk at lunch, and she kindly agreed.
As we sat down, it was clear that neither of us were
interested in eating. After only a few sentences of conversation, she handed
me her Bible which was opened to a particular text. “Here, read this out loud,”
she said. I began to read slowly, “And
you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me
with all your heart (Jer. 29:13). Tears filled my eyes as I read, and I
began to weep, then I began to howl. A sword had pierced through my heart in
one thrust. For the first time in a long, long time I could hear the voice of
the Lord clearly. “Martin, you have never sought Me
with all of your heart. You will never
know Me until I am worth everything to you.” It was true. I could hear the wail of my
own voice echo through the hall, but I didn’t care – someone had told me the
truth.
What the Lord commands is very simple, but very expensive.
When Jesus was asked by a lawyer what the greatest commandment was, he
answered, “You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your mind” (Matt.
To most of us God is worth loving. But when it comes to “all your heart” … well, that costs too much. The problem is that very few people even attempt being wholehearted in their devotion to the Lord. But the Lord isn’t working out some kind of “deal.” If you seek Him with 45% of your heart, you won’t find 45% of the Lord, you find nothing! “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” Jer. 29:13.
God not only commands what we’re to do, but also how we’re to do it. Everything we do should be done with all of our heart. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col. 3:23). My problem wasn’t so much that I was doing wrong things, but that the “good” I did was halfhearted.
James says, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). He’s unstable because he’s never really decided to do anything. He’s “kind of” decided to do one thing, or “pretty much” decided on another, or maybe “thinking seriously” about something else. I know this is true, because for years I drifted along going nowhere, double-minded and halfhearted. Oh, I had some good ideas and tried to do some things for God, but they were never blessed by the Lord. Up to that time when the Lord spoke to me, I had never fully devoted myself with all my heart to anyone or anything.
How Much Is All Your Heart?
To do something with your heart is to do it with
your will. The word for “heart” in the Bible can mean purpose, intention,
courage, reason, emotion, and will. So to do something with all of your heart
is to make up your mind to go 100% forward in your decision without wavering,
and to give all you’ve got to give.
Look at what some people live (and die) for, and how
they do it – the football receiver running full-bore downfield, a flying dive
for the ball, barely catching it he tumbles into the endzone, crushed by two
tacklers … a businessman sells his large house to buy a smaller one, investing
the money into a growing business, he gets up early, works relentlessly, goes
to bed late … the rock star singing at the top of his lungs, straining for the
notes with sweat pouring down his face and neck … These people may not be
seeking the right things, but you must admit that they’re doing it with all
their heart.
The problem that keeps so many Christians stuck in
the mud today is the same problem King Amaziah had… “And he did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole
heart” (2 Chron. 25:2). Even if you’re pointed in the right direction, this
kind of attitude will keep you bogged down and continually ineffective.
The devil doesn’t worry about you serving God, as
long as you don’t do it with your whole heart. Disobedience isn’t just doing
the wrong thing; it can be doing the right thing, but the wrong way.
I’ve seen that throughout the Bible the Lord directs
us to act with all our heart in
everything we do, and He continually blesses godly men and women for their
wholehearted devotion. We’re instructed and often commanded to:
SEEK God with all our heart
(Deut.
OBEY Him with all our heart
(Deut. 26:16-19; 1 Kings 8:61).
SERVE Him with all our heart
(Josh. 22:5; 1 Sam.
REPENT with all our heart (1 Sam.
7:3; Joel
LOVE God with all our heart
(Deut. 6: 4-5; 30: 6; Matt.
REJOICE with all our heart (Zeph.
GIVE THANKS with all our heart (Psalm
9:1; 86:12).
Everything is to be done with all our heart to the
Lord, but why? What’s wrong with “most of your heart” for the Lord? Let me put
it this way. Has anyone ever apologized to you with somewhat less than a whole
heart? “I’m really sorry I yelled at you and called you a fool in front of
everyone, but my toast was burnt this morning and the car wouldn’t start and my
right shoe is a little tight and…” How do you respond to that? If someone
apologizes, they should do it with all their heart, take whatever blame is
theirs – not try to mix a little repentance in with a swirl of excuses. We
reject that kind of apology, and so does the Lord.
How about marriage? You’re sitting
outside on a warm summer night with your beloved, both of you looking deeply
into each other’s eyes, and you hear a whisper, “I love you with most of my
heart.” How would you feel? You’d be crushed! And rightly so.
You’d wonder where the rest of their heart was. The Lord isn’t asking too much
by insisting on our wholehearted devotion. If God isn’t worth your whole heart, who is? If serving Jesus isn’t
worth your whole heart, how will you ever convince someone else He’s worth
theirs?
If Jesus is the living God, the Lord of
lords, then treat Him that way with your whole heart. But if He’s some
religious guy in history, forget the whole thing! Don’t bother with some
halfhearted, lame service to God. When Jesus came and walked the earth, He gave
His whole heart to us. He never complained or dragged His feet, all the while
putting up with misery and discomfort, letting people beat Him and spit in His
face, all for us. Can we give Him any less than our whole heart and still look
Him in the eye with a clear conscience?
I don’t mean we’re to be wholehearted in just
spiritual things, either. We must give Him our wholehearted devotion on our
job, when we study the Bible, when we sing, when we eat, in our recreation, it must
be with all our heart. Not only will it be pleasing to the Lord, but we’ll
end up doing a far better job, and we’ll even enjoy what we’re doing. If we
can’t do something with all our heart to the Lord, then we … shouldn’t do it at
all.
“Do you not know that those
who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way
that you may win” (1 Cor.
A gifted student may receive high grades while only
halfheartedly attending to his studies. But getting a good grade doesn’t
necessarily mean you’ve pleased God. Jesus said that the widow who gave only
two small coins gave more than the others, because she gave all she had (Mark
Run in a such a way that
you may win – serve others, work, pray, rest, witness, worship – do it with all
your heart to God. Make use of the opportunities and resources He’s given you.
The one who runs the race halfhearted is a loser,
no matter what place he comes in!
Are you waiting for God to use you? Are you waiting
for Him to reach out and lead you into all the wonderful plans He has for your
life as a servant of the King? Maybe God is waiting for you to give Him the
balance of your heart – the part that you’ve been holding back for yourself.
Either He’s Lord of all, or not at all. May He be able to fulfill this word in
your life.