Preparations of the heart

Proverbs 16:1 “The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” Another version says, “We humans make plans, but the Lord has the final word.”

At church this month, our theme is Prepare the Way. When I read this Scripture in Proverbs it got me pondering. Solomon teaches in these Proverbs about the balance between human plans and God’s will. Though we may make our own plans, as we submit to our Lord and Friend, He sees our hearts, understands our motives, will guide our steps and make our paths straight.

Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the Lord; He directs it where He pleases.” I find this Scripture comforting: Along with Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.” How reassuring it is to know that though we make plans, we can trust our Lord and Friend to direct our steps, and it is His delight.

In Proverbs 27:19, the Bible identifies our hearts as defining who we genuinely and authentically are – the real us. Our heart is immeasurably valuable to God. In the parable of the sower, Jesus teaches that words are seeds, and the soil which they are sown in, is our hearts.

So to me, the preparation of the heart speaks of being aware of what word-seeds we are allowing to germinate in our hearts. We hear words all the time; from others, from ourselves and from the Lord and the Bible and from the enemy. Let’s be careful about what words/thoughts we receive and water, and also be careful to weed out destructive words.

Our Lord Jesus called Himself a seed (John 12:23-35). Wrapped in a living, breathing, flesh-and bones body, the Word-Seed stepped into our world to love us in person. He died and rose again; sent us His Holy Spirit so that He could grow as the tree of life within us, planted by the rivers of our hearts. Amazing love.

Shalom.

Kath.