In Full: Pursue LifeSample

Open Your Heart

Ready: “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.” - Psalm 52:10 (NLT)

Set: Opening our hearts to let Him see to all of our parts is vulnerable and often uncomfortable. We don’t like to think we’ve got things wrong, but if we’re honest, we’re not sure we like the direction we’re headed anyway. So why not let the Ultimate Healer have His way to bring us into the light?

To pursue a life in full, our hearts must open in these three areas:

To God

God wants to be in a place of such connection with you that you want to share with Him the deep things that are going on. He’s all about relationship, and if we can’t get past this first step of opening up to God, there won’t be much that’s genuine in our faith. The more we open to Jesus, the deeper the relationship becomes for vibrant, two-way fellowship.

To Yourself

Honesty with God is good. But we also need to be honest with ourselves if we’re going to experience any real, lasting internal change. Before we can begin a transformation, there has to be a starting point. That begins with baring our hearts and admitting that maybe we can’t quite do everything on our own. Be honest with God about the motivations of your heart and areas of struggle you’ve pushed down or tried to hide.

To Hope

We were made to hope in Him who is Hope itself, fueled by the Holy Spirit to believe God’s good to us in deep ways. What do you desire? Is it to make a team, or make an eternal impact on your team? Do you want to reach 300 wins, or win 300 lives for the Kingdom over the course of your career? It’s a heart-shift that says God is our Provider and Sustainer, and He gives enough grace to get us where we need to go for a life packed with hope and impact.

God wants us to live in His freedom and confidence. The more we make our hearts malleable to God, the more He infuses us with the heart of Jesus to bring us to the fullness of life we long for.

Go:

• Which do you have trouble opening your heart to: God, yourself or hope?

• How can you rely on Scripture to help you dig into the truth about opening your heart?

• Where can you open up to God’s love today?

Overtime: “Lord, I like to hold things close to my heart and not share them, but You call me to open up to You. Thank You that You are willing to explore my heart with me and that Your love is the driving force. Help me to be open and honest with You, for the full life You promise. I want to trust You in this area. Amen.”