Lately, I’ve been hearing a resurgence of the “well, the Lord knows my heart” excuse that we use when we don’t want to do something just as the Lord has commanded. We are too ______ to do ____________ but, “the Lord knows my heart.” And, that statement is true. He does know our heart. And, He knows exactly what’s in it. He does not give us more than we can handle. Instead, we chose what we will handle.

The Lord created our hearts. He knows every single thing about us. But, just because He knows does not mean that He approves of what is in our hearts. We need to stop making excuses for why we refuse to do things and start making time to do the things of God. I was at the gym yesterday (yes, I was actually working out), and I saw a slogan on a t-shirt that said “I don’t make excuses, I make time.”

So, fellow believers in Christ, will we make the time? How about that devotion time? Private bible study? Commitment is lacking in our lives. Will we make the time for God? It’s funny, when I was in the midst of my mess, (the valley I’ve been writing about), God was first and foremost on the tip of my tongue. I praised Him. I talked and communed with Him. He showed me things that I would not have seen if I weren’t otherwise in tune with Him. He did this because He loves me. He showed me the route out of the valley. Now that I’m not dwelling there in the valley, I find it amazing how I must “remind myself” to keep that same intensity towards God. It is so easy to be swept away from the relationship that we start with God. We start with fire and then flicker out because we don’t feed the flame. But, it doesn’t have to be this way. Join me in starting each day with God – entering each conversation or situation with God – inviting Him to be with us along the minutes and moments of our day. God is faithful to us. He loves to fellowship with us and desires that we fellowship with Him.

When God does examine our hearts, my prayer is that within He finds a great passion for Himself and the fruit of the Spirit in full harvest - not an obsession with anything else. Take out your stethoscope; it’s time for a heart check.