Centering Our Hearts (Daily Refresh, 1-15-26)

One of the most important biblical topics is your own heart. Throughout the biblical story, God shows that He is not nearly as interested in your money, time, or service as much as He is your heart.

Why is this important? Jesus taught his disciples that the heart is the center of our lives. Our emotions and our desires flow from the condition of our heart. If God gets access to our heart, then the rest of our lives follow after.

In Matthew 6:21, Jesus says that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. The things that we treasure in our life reveal where our heart truly is. The things that we think about, spend our money on, and use our energy to attain—that is where our heart is.

But it’s not enough to just not let our hearts dwell on those things. Instead, we need to train our hearts to dwell on Jesus. The apostle Paul encourages us to dwell on the things that are of God:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8 NIV

This type of thinking moves our heart to cherish Jesus as our treasure above everything else on earth.

If you’re honest with yourself, where would you say your treasure is currently? What are the things you devote your time to and spend your money on? Consider how those things reveal where your heart truly is. Spending time in God’s Word and in prayer are great ways to reorient our hearts back toward God.

My Thoughts

Today’s devotional hit me right where it hurts…in my heart and my conscience. I may seem to have everything together, but the truth is that I don’t. I have a lot of problems ordering my thoughts and getting myself motivated to do what I should do. Yes, I spend time in God’s word daily. But am I really focused? Sometimes, my phone is right next to me and when it lights up with a notification, I pause my devotional time and see who or what is calling my attention. Thus, my attention is divided. I need a “rerouting” on my heart and mind, so I am choosing to focus on God during the next hour of my devotional time, with my phone face down and away from me and my thoughts centered on the Lord. I cannot give God half of my attention when He deserves all of it. I want to treasure my time with Him and look forward to it, not see it as one more thing on my “to do” list to complete and check off. I confess that my busy days with medical appointments have led me to act more like my time with God is a chore and not a treasured choice. The appointments are still going to happen, but my time with God cannot wait. If I want to truly show Him how worthy He is to me, then I need to set aside other things and just focus on Him. He sees me and I want to see Him, high and lifted up on His throne and in my life.