Divided Hearts

Ever felt like your heart is out to get you, pulling you in different directions?

I have. I am constantly betrayed by my own feelings. They can quickly lead me down slippery paths.

Even if we are  believers redeemed by grace, we still live in what the Bible calls our “flesh,” our human desires that  lead us to selfishness. On our way to sanctification, it can continue to tug at us. 

David understood this feeling. Read Psalm 86 and hear how he expresses it.  

I love verse 11 where David wrote,

“Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth;

unite my heart to fear your name.”  

Unite my heart. That’s a unique request. It sounds as if a civil war rages in David’s heart.  

This is how I feel lots of days. So many things tug at my heart. I give pieces of my heart  away to anxious thoughts and lesser things all the time. Sometimes I let things get in the way  of my heart’s purpose. My heart becomes unintentionally divided. It becomes difficult to focus  my thoughts. 

It surprises me that it takes so little to distract me. My heart can be flighty. Many things keep  me from being fully engaged in God’s purpose for my day. My mind fractures, going in all kinds of directions, but getting me nowhere. Unfortunately, getting distracted takes very little effort  on my part. 

The things that distract us don’t even have to be bad things in themselves; they become bad only when we elevate them to a place in our hearts that they were never meant to occupy. 

What pulls at your heart and distracts you from singular devotion to Jesus?

If you sincerely  look at how you spend your time, it will show you your heart’s devotion. 

Refocusing isn’t a one time thing. It’s an everyday, every hour thing. It takes an investment in time, but it’s just that: an investment that will pay dividends later. 

Note the lovely way The Message phrases “unite my heart”: “Put me together, one heart and  mind” (v. 11). I need God to put me together, to stop the tug-of-war in my heart.

The book of Jeremiah tells us,

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13

To really find God, we need to seek Him with all of our heart, not because He is elusive,

but because we are so easily distracted by lesser things. God wants us to find Him,

but we  are too easily enticed away. 

James agreed with Jeremiah when he wrote,

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to  you.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts,

you double-minded.”

James 4:8 

Did you note the second part of that verse?

We often hear only the first part of this and it is a wonderful promise, so I am not trying to overshadow that. But look at the second half  of the instructions. We are to purify our heart because we are double-minded! Double-minded— sound familiar? 

The New Living Translation states that phrase like this: “Purify your hearts, for your loyalty  is divided between God and the world.” Wow! That is exactly the problem. My loyalty is divided  as the cares of the world sneak into each day. While some aspects of life on earth must have a place  in my mind, I can’t be completely wrapped up in me. I can easily become completely absorbed in  something that won’t matter tomorrow. 

The phrase translated as “double-minded” is the Greek dipsuchos, literally meaning “of two  souls, of two selves.”¹ The definition goes on to describe a person split in half.

Ever felt split in half?

Remember how David described a tug-of-war in his heart?

God knew we would all feel this  way.

That's why He promises us in these verses that we don’t have to live like this. 

Having an undivided heart means my whole heart is traveling in one direction. My attention  and devotion aren’t pulled down separate paths. I can draw near to God and stay nearer when  we are headed in the same direction. Being divided makes us ineffective. I want desperately to be  effective; I want my efforts, struggles, and battles in this life to count for God. We can’t effectively  advance His kingdom until our whole heart has drawn near to Him so that His presence cleanses  and purifies us. 

Steal this prayer for your week:

Father, thank You that You abound in steadfast love to those who call on You.

There is none  like You—You alone are God. Teach me Your way that I may walk in Your truth with unwavering steps. Unite my heart to fear Your name only and drown out the call of the  world that splits me in two. Help me focus and refocus on things that actually matter and  not be enticed away by trinkets that will only disappoint me.

In Jesus’ name, amen. 

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