Guest Post

Characteristics of the Human Heart

by Casey Treat
 

God wants every heart and every family to be whole, yet today over half of the young people in the world live in single-parent households during their early years. This often produces a heart within them that has been bruised, abandoned, rejected, or lied to. 

One of the signs of an orphaned heart is a refusal to look at personal problems and personal responsibility. When was the last time you looked at the attitudes and conditions of your heart? Whether you realize it or not, many of these were established by your childhood environment and carried into adulthood. 

My wife recently met a man whose life exemplifies this well. During an airplane flight, he told my wife, Wendy, \”I\’m an atheist.\” They had a wonderful conversation about the Lord because the man was not really an atheist. 

His heart had been broken because he had been raised in a religion that had not healing for him. When he heard the truth about Jesus, he did believe and was open to God. Religion had left him empty and brokenhearted. Truth will set you free. 

Your life experiences affect your heart. Time spent with a good family and church will produce positive results in your heart. Hurts, bitterness, and lies will produce problems in your heart. 

As you learn God\’s Word and renew your mind with it, your heart recovers. Then as you make the necessary adjustments in your life, the problems in your heart will fade and you will begin to experience positive results. 

If you feel your life is on course with God, then all you need to do is to make incremental changes and you will continue to grow, increase, improve and prosper. 

Think of it as driving to Los Angeles from Seattle. It\’s pretty much a straight shot south. Along the way you make incremental changes, like changing lanes now and then, but you are headed in the right direction. Don\’t stop. Don\’t give up. You will get there. 

If your life has been a string of disasters and bad decisions, then stop the car, change your direction, and find the road that will take you to God\’s best for your life. 

These changes will take more than incremental changes or small adjustments. You may have to do a U-turn and get serious about making life changes.