How Can You Mend a Divided Heart?
I was in a bit of a dilemma when I watched the Cowboys-Giants season opener. I’ve followed the Cowboys since I was a little girl and covered them for many years as a sportscaster, but also have a special place in my heart for the Giants who I reported on for several years, including broadcasting from their locker room after they won the 1991 Super Bowl against the Buffalo Bills.
How do you root for two teams? It’s impossible. You have to choose one. I realized that after I first went to work in New York City. I was asked by a sports producer if I was a Mets or a Yankees fan. I replied, “I don’t know. I kind of like them both.” The producer exclaimed, “You can’t follow BOTH teams around here!”
I found out there is no divided heart in sports!
We can’t have a divided heart in our faith as well. God wants us to be “all in” when it comes to our walk with him. In Revelation 3:15,16, the Lord expresses his displeasure with the church at Laodicea for their wishy-washy faith, saying: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
I don’t ever want to be a bad taste in God’s mouth do you?
How do we avoid sitting on the fence in our spiritual journey? How can we mend our divided hearts? First, we can turn our lives over to God and immerse ourselves in his word daily. We can also pray Psalm 86:11 over our lives: Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. God wants us to have no other gods before him. He desires to be the center of our lives, not on the periphery.
I pray that God is not disappointed when he looks at my heart. Avoiding a lukewarm faith is not as easy as picking a team. That’s for sure.
By the way, I ended up pulling for the guys with the stars on their helmets. For me, the choice was obvious, just like like the obvious choice for Christians is to embrace a full-fledged, all-out devotion to God!
I have found over the years that if I do not make a decision that the holy spirit will bother me until I have to make a decision. I really know He is actually guiding me to make a good choice because I never make good choices without seeking him and finding peace first. Blessing, Diane Roark http://www.recipesforourdailybread.com
Great article. I have found living a life in relationship with God takes intentional choices being made to pursue intimate time in the word and prayer.