An Upright Heart
HELLO FRIENDS,
The other day as I read Psalm 119:7 I found myself in deep thought when I got to the words,“upright heart”. As I fixated on these words I started brainstorming what I believed an upright heart to mean, but I still felt there was something more. A deeper meaning I was missing.
One explains upright as straight and right.
Someone being upright in heart is one who is straight in their life.
Someone straight in their course.
Someone unbending in their convictions.
Someone unswerving in their conduct.
Don’t let this generic explanation scare you into thinking we’re expected to be perfect or have it all together. God knows we miss the mark and that’s why He died for us and we are forgiven. He wants our dependency to be solely reliant on him. Our honesty. Our messy. He wants it all!
When I read this, I see it more as a life goal or a life to strive towards.
I want to be open to the God’s plans for my life.
Be the person who is convicted by my sins and seeks God’s forgiveness.
I want my actions to bring honor and glory to His name.
Then I found a blog that shared, “We can’t work at it backwards by trying to do good things and hoping the inside changes. God works in us from the inside out. His holiness, His goodness, His righteousness permeates us from the inside out and then it is reflected in our actions and in how we treat and handle our things and other people. We know this because uprightness of heart is not an external thing. You can do the right things externally and your heart be in the wrong place. We want our hearts to be right first so doing the right thing becomes our natural response to life. Not a forced thing that we do because we have to.”
I had to reflect for a minute after taking this in as I realized there has to be intentionality behind an upright heart. We are to intentionally choose to let the Lord be the leader of our lives. Be intentional with our motives. We are to intentionally seek forgiveness when our intentions are not in alignment with what the word says.
Genuinely having an upright heart can begin by giving permission to let God in. Allowing him to transform you from the inside out. Trusting He is good and his plans for you are equally as good. If He is allowed to live within us we will emulate his character on the outside.
I hope you have a great week,
Pastor Lorena
WSFC Children’s Pastor