Happy Sabbath friends!

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

During my healing journey, this verse has been the main theme throughout it all. As time goes on, I am maturing and learning that you cannot put all your trust in this world. Your complete trust should be in Jesus.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Something I’ve always struggled with is trusting people too soon, and then time shows their true colors, and my whole heart was already in their hands as they ripped it out of my chest when they chose to walk away. Call it naivety, innocence, or even ignorance, but it always left me feeling like a fool. It always ended up with me feeling hurt, exposed, used, etc. I am speaking on this as I am sure I am not the only one who has ever felt this way, but trust me when I say, there is growth. This is why I absolutely love Proverbs 4:23 as it’s a constant reminder from God that we should protect our hearts from this world. We shouldn’t be giving our whole hearts to this world, when we should be giving it all to Him.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭12‬:‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We should have the same attitude that David carried in Psalm 9. He kept using distinct “I will” statements to express his determination to have a strong relationship with Jesus.

“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I WILL give thanks to You wholeheartedly.

I WILL tell the world about You wholeheartedly.

I WILL be glad and rejoice in You wholeheartedly.

I WILL sing Your praises wholeheartedly.

Are you determined to have a stronger relationship with Jesus? Speak the above sentences upon your life today, and truly mean them.

If you depend on this world, it will fail you, but God remains true and constant in your life. Even when we don’t deserve His grace, He pours it over us abundantly.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

David goes on to proclaim how God has transformed his life when he wholeheartedly gave himself to Christ.

“My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you. For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished. The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation. The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden. The Lord is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God. But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish. Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This chapter in Psalms is so powerful as it truly displays what can happen when we put our complete trust, wholeheartedly, into Jesus. When we put our complete trust in Christ Jesus, and not in this world, our enemies will turn away. The Lord will bless us with His heavenly protection throughout our days. Because of this, we WILL give thanks to Him wholeheartedly. We WILL tell the world about His miraculous deeds wholeheartedly. We WILL be glad and rejoice in Him wholeheartedly. We WILL sing His praises wholeheartedly.

“The Lord reigns forever”

“For you have upheld my right and my cause”

“for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you”

God will never fail you. I say this with full confidence as it is written:

“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

With this in mind, we also know that God is love, as it is written:

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We just established that love never fails right? And God is love, so that can only mean that God never fails. God will never forsake you. The world may betray you. The world may hurt you. The world may take advantage of you. But our Heavenly Father WILL be there for you through it all wholeheartedly.

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.””
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I pray over whoever is reading this message that they learn to put their complete trust in You, Lord, and not of this world. I pray that you fill their hearts with Your perfect peace, love, and protection that exudes from You. I pray for those reading who are currently hurting from past hurt, betrayal, etc. that they give it all to You wholeheartedly. The burdens of our pasts are too much to carry, Lord. Bless us with the courage and strength to let go of the weight and heaviness that is holding us down, and give it all to You, so You can lift us up. Thank you for being there for us wholeheartedly, even when we feel we don’t deserve it. May this message from You, Lord, add a blessing to those who are reading.

Amen.