“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” — 1 Samuel 16:7
The Heart
It’s what keeps us alive. It continues to beat every single day — and in the case of the Grinch, can even grow three sizes in one day.
The past few weeks, I’ve been reading in Proverbs, and many of the verses point back to the heart. They explain why it is so important for us to make sure our hearts are right before anything else.
I think this is so true for all of us. Our hearts drive all that is within us, and how the heart goes, we go. I’m not talking about the literal heart that is beating. I’m talking about our inner being. Our mindset, our thought process, our daily walk of life, it all starts with the heart.
The book of Ezekiel says many of us live with hearts of stone — cold, unrepentant, stubborn and filled with hate and anger toward others. This is the type of heart that keeps us from experiencing all we can in this life and the next.
But God also talks in Ezekiel about a heart of flesh. And He asks for us to experience a sort of “heart transplant.”
Psalm 51:10 shows David asking God to help create in him a “clean heart.” That’s a prayer I pray each morning.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Today, renew your spirit and ask God to help you with whatever you are going through by starting with your heart. It might be on the sports field, it might be in the classroom, it might be at home with your family, it might be at work. Wherever and whatever it is, start with the heart, for out of it flows the wellspring of life.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” — Proverbs 4:23
— Jason Romano, Sports Spectrum Podcast host
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com.
