Training your heart to walk with the Holy Spirit this year

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:14 ESV)

your heart can be trained showing a man in the gym

God’s glory is brooding over the earth and your life in these strange days we are living in. Some of you, hopefully all, will encounter God and experience His power and presence in this new year in ways you have never experienced before. As I shared back, the Lord wants you to prepare for His power and presence. That preparation is putting your heart to align with Him. But how do you do that?

One of the most extraordinary insights the Lord gave me personally in my study of the heart is that we can train our hearts in spiritual matters. A classic example is preparing our hearts to believe. Yes, you can train your heart to believe the Word of God. You can make your heart willing to obey God, joyful, peaceful, etc. Hebrews 5:14 above says mature believers train their powers of discernment by practice. Paul says in 1 Tim. 4:8 that physical exercise has some value to the body, but spiritual exercise is profitable unto all things.

Think of a potter that is molding and changing clay with their two hands. Imagine that Potter is God, and the clay is you. The two “hands” of God that change your heart are His Word and Spirit. God’s Word is the heavenly wonder-drug to transform the hearts of human beings. Do not be worried about how it works. Just plug it in and let it do its gradual but persistently daily transformation.

MEDITATE

Who are those described as “mature” in Heb. 5:14 above? Compare it to babes mentioned in verse 13.

APPLY THE WORD

We are bombarded with ever-increasing pressures to work on our bodies, being careful about what we eat, keeping fit to look good, train ourselves for a specific task etc. Oh, if only we will pay attention to our hearts the way we do our bodies! Training of your heart is not passive but active and intentional, just as that of your body. Get into God’s Gym this year!