Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Enter (02/27/06)
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TITLE: Enter In (iv) | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lynne Fickett
03/03/06 -
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Secret Places of the Heart
You reach down and search
Into the depths of my soul,
Revealing the secret places of my heart,
Places where the fire of Your gaze
Seeks to purge the areas of sin,
Desire, pride and folly.
Let them be made known to me,
And may the recesses of my heart
Be purged of anything
That does not follow
Your perfect will for my life.
Lord, give me the desires
Of a servant's heart
And that Your plans will lead me
On a path of righteousness.
Wide is the road that leads
To destruction and
Away from that narrow gate,
And the salvation of our souls.
From the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, God has made it clear that He desires to enter into a relationship with all of His creation. To those of us who answer the call and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we enter into a relationship and a communion with Him whereby we willingly allow the Father to plumb into the depths of our souls, revealing the secret places of the heart. It is not an easy matter for us to submit to this, and yet, God desires for us to relinquish our will and sinfulness, for obedience and transparency in our behavior.
The fire of the Lord's gaze is enough to reveal the intent of our hearts and condemn us of our sin, but Christ has provided a way for us to walk a path of righteoussness that will give us entrance through that narrow way into heaven.
In Psalm 139:, David asks the Lord to search and to know my heart-intimately! He knows every thought even before we think it and while we were yet unborn He knew every facet of our being. David also encouraged the Lord to purge and wash him of his sins in Psalm 51:2-4a:
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin
For I know my transgressions. and my sin is ever before me.
Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and done what is evil in
Thy sight……
Even in David's sins he desired to be clean; he chose to enter into the process of sanctification through being purged and exposing the imperfection of his heart and soul. Psalm 51:10-12 states:
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast
spirit within me
Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take
Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me
with a willing spirit.
Entering into this relationship is one of willing dependence on our part on the One who is all knowing, who patiently accepts our efforts to walk in the path He has chosen for us. Obedience is key to entering in; when we are faithfully engaged in this relationship we need to be open to God opening up those secret places of the heart. I have been one to keep around extra baggage that over the years has taken over these closets to the point that the Holy Spirit intervenes and starts to take an inventory of my life. At this point I am rather relieved like people on some of this decorator shows that help people deal with their clutter and mess; other times I am afraid what is in the deep recesses of these closets-tucked way in back! The Holy Spirit knows my ways, however, and He is not shy about getting in there and rummaging through all the sin and accumulated inconsequential items that I have kept carefully under wraps. The most difficult part in the process is when He shows me each individual item and to recall the reason for having it in the first place.
The aftermath is always one of gladness. When I allow this partnership to flourish, entering in can be one of hope, encouragement, and joy. I always find a greater freedom in communion with the Father, unencumbered by sin and needless baggage of the past. God searches and knows the secret places of my heart and will always make a happy home for us to dwell in.
Quotes taken from the New American Standard Version
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