Imagine yourself exploring an old house. You come to an unusual room. From the size of the house, you’re sure there must be something else beyond the room, but you can’t see any doors. Could there be any hidden ones? You run your hands along the walls until you feel a little crack running up and down one of them. You push, and it gives just a little. So you push a little harder, and this time a secret door swings open! Now you have a whole new passageway to explore!
Our hearts can be like that room. Often we aren’t really aware of why we think the things we think or do the things we do. It’s because we haven’t taken the time or made the effort to examine ourselves. But if we look for them, we can find “cracks” in the walls of our hearts and minds. We can push on the “cracks” to see if they open some part of us that has been hidden inside. Not everyone is willing to quiet the noise around them—and inside them—so they can examine their hearts. But it is how we can become much more real in our relationship with Jesus.
So what can you and I do? Well, one important thing is to look back on our day and consider how it went. Here are some questions I can ask myself that just might open up a "crack" in my heart:?
- Did I genuinely care about other people today? Did I notice if someone seemed especially quiet, happy, sad, or loud?
- Was I all wrapped up in things today that don’t really have much value?
- What was most on my heart and mind today?
- Today, did I try to honor God? Did I do my best to please Him?
- What about the thoughts I had today—were they pure? Did I waste energy wanting something that it wasn’t right to have? Did I harbor anger, resentment, or self-pity? Did I linger on any thoughts that were selfish, defensive, or prideful?
- Did I go back and talk to God about ways that I disappointed Him? Did I tell Him I was sorry?
If you go to bed at night and give no thought to your day, then you will stay shallow. Talking to God about your thoughts, motives, and actions is what will help you go deeper.
If you resist the devil, he will flee. It follows, then, that if you ignore the devil, he’ll come back and do the same thing tomorrow that he did today. And he’ll try to do even more next time!?
So push on the cracks in your heart. Open up new rooms for Jesus to move into!