What To Do With Our Divided Hearts

It’s easy to feel scattered.

To feel pulled in one direction or another, to feel like multiple thoughts, feelings, and emotions have a sway on our hearts. To love God and desire more of him but also cling so tightly to the little idols of our hearts we’re not quite ready to let go of.

And we’re not alone in this.

In Deuteronomy, after recounting the glorious works of God in freeing the Israelites from slavery, carrying them safely through the Red Sea, giving them the path to flourishing, and making a covenant to be their God, their protector, and provider, the people vow to obey. They promised to obey the commands of God and respond to his mighty acts of kindness.

And how does God respond? With lament.

Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! (Deuteronomy 5:29 ESV)

The people have just promised to obey their covenant God, keep his commandments and follow him.

Why is God lamenting?

Scattered hearts, divided devotions

Unfortunately, God knew the reality of his people.

They have fickle hearts which easily sway from devotion to their God. Time and again as they wandered through the wilderness Israel doubted the God who freed them from slavery, questioned his goodness, and shifted their loyalties—preferring to worship a golden calf than the sovereign Lord.

And the same is true today.

God’s people still wander from his goodness—we still wander from his goodness.

We prefer the comfort and predictability of idols we can contain = and control. We have every intention of faithfulness but, before we know it, we’re in unison with the Apostle Paul’s lament.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15).

What are we to do?

How are we to continue?

The solution to our scattered hearts

There’s no quick fix or 3 step solution to this conundrum.

On the one hand, this is the reality of our earthly existence. As we make our pilgrimage through earth, our hearts will naturally totter away from the lovingkindness of God. We can expect to sway, to constantly need forgiveness, and be on guard with our foolish hearts.

There’s good news, though.

This is only a piece of the reality. Fickle, sinful hearts aren’t our primary reality—union with Christ is.

When God the Father looks on us he sees the perfection of his Son. He sees beauty, he sees beloved children, he sees saints.

We aren’t just sinners saved by grace, we “are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). We’re adopted children with the Holy Spirit, who “helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).

This means our struggles with obedience don’t define us.

Our inconsistency doesn’t negate the consistency of God’s kindness. We’ve been adopted into the family of God and—try as we might—God the Father doesn’t kick his kids out.