By: Megan Fate Marshman
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. —Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Most of us really, really don’t want to sin. And we even know what sin is, and we believe that we’re not supposed to do it. But … we still sin. Why?
Many of us believe that we’re still sinning because we’re “not trying hard enough.” That’s not entirely it. We’re sinning because part of our heart is hidden from us. We don’t know why we do what we do. One way we try to hide is to cover up any part of our lives that doesn’t feel right with good behavior. It doesn’t really work. We need to get to the root of the issue. Quick fixes aren’t going to fix our hidden hearts. We need to appeal to someone who understands what’s going on in there. We have to go to God.
God Wants to Transform Your Heart
The term “heart” is used biblically to refer to the core person. Proverbs 27:19 (NIV) says, “As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”
In Proverbs 23:7 (NIV), we’re warned against the begrudging host, “for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”
In Luke 16:15 (NIV), Jesus says, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts.” The heart is what a person really thinks and does—not who she says she is or who he pretends to be.
This is why Proverbs 3:5 instructs us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts. We don’t trust Him by saying, “God, I trust You.” We trust Him by opening our hearts to Him: “God, teach me what’s in there.”
It's About More than Trying Harder
When we skip over the importance of our hearts—and the reality that they can be hidden from us—we find ourselves mired in spiritual moralism, or the attempt to direct our own spiritual growth. Relying on spiritual moralism happens when we make an immense effort toward becoming more like Christ without Christ.
Spelled out like that, it sounds ridiculous, but I see this all the time. I see it in our culture. I see it in the people I work with and speak with. I see it in our sermons. And I see it in me. This has been my struggle for decades. I hear a good sermon on prayer. I decide right then and there that I’m going to get better at my prayer life. So what went wrong in this moment?
I skipped a step. I skipped over the truth of what’s in my heart and went straight for “trying harder.” There’s another way to get better at prayer. And, not so surprisingly, it involves prayer.
Let’s try again. I hear a good sermon on prayer. I decide I want to pray more but wonder why I haven’t in the past. I wonder whether I’ll get better at it after this moment. And, here’s the key, I take those thoughts about prayer to God. I confess, “God, I want to pray more. Help!” Or maybe I say, “Prayer takes a lot of time. Why don’t I dedicate more of my time to it? What don’t I believe about prayer? Help!”
The difference between the two ways of trying to grow is significant—and it’s a difference that exists in the heart. The next time you feel that impulse to change, pause before you “start trying harder.” Go straight to God in prayer, offering your desire to change to Him.