“I, the Lord, search and examine the mind, I test the heart, To give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.” [Jeremiah 17:10, AMP]
Search… Examine… Test… the heart. This will validate us in who and what we are and do. But the Father doesn’t just ‘consider’ this – He ‘gives’ to us according to our ways, the results of our deeds. To me that is all encompassing and strangely reassuring.
I believe the most visible and viable expressions of what we know is our application. If you don’t apply what you know… how do you really know… what you know? More specifically, how can/do you apply what it is you know and believe? Application is the ground to discover what it is you really do know and how you demonstrate it. Simple example: if you love someone but never say anything or do anything that would let them know… how would they ever know of your love? Actually, how would you? And no, words aren’t enough. They are a good beginning, but it’s your behavior that proves and disproves what you know.
“And He said, “Whatever comes from [the heart of] a man, that is what defiles and dishonors him. For from within, [that is] out the heart of men, come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries, acts of greed and covetousness, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained conduct, envy and jealousy, slander and profanity, arrogance and self-righteousness and foolishness (poor judgment). 2All these evil things [schemes and desires] come from within and defile and dishonor the man.” [Mark 7: 20-23, AMP]
Most important… look at what your witness is saying. Remember – we all witness to what we think and believe through our actions… always. A different question is… is the foundation for your belief – what you know, a head knowing or a heart knowing? And yes, they are two different approaches. Need both? Absolutely.
“The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos.” A.W. Tozer
Equally important is knowing the source of our knowing when we act and speak. There are many verses that talk about this:
“The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart.”
[Luke 6:45, AMP]
Actually our questions for ourselves should be… how do we ‘feed’ our hearts. What are we treasuring and storing in our hearts? Do we listen to our words to understand and know the answer? I would venture to say that we all don’t do a particularly good job of making certain that our hearts know because the heart has been included with the mind in the searching, examining, and testing. Our hearts are both strong and fragile.
