Wholehearted: A deeper dive into my 2019 word of the year.

Our words and actions directly correlate to the condition of our hearts. They show what we’re filling our lives with and the type of feelings and attitudes we’re allowing to rule over us.

Matthew 15:18

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

Are your words filled with love, peace and kindness or are they filled with anger, resentment or jealousy?
Are your actions fueled by discipline, self-control and perseverance or are they lacking zeal, laden with half-heartedness or laziness?
Do you lash out in anger and fear or have you trained and bridled your tongue and body to respond on command?
Are you loving and taking care of yourself and your body through self discipline like the temple that God gave you, or do you abuse and neglect your health and well being?
Are you patient, gentle and careful with yourself and others or are you quick to anger and frustration, brash, or speak negatively to yourself and others?
Are you actively seeking the good in others and in your own life or are you quick to judge or focus only on the negative?
Are you spending your spare time studying God’s word, meditating on scriptures, praying and doing good for others, or is every spare second of your day filled with work, kids activities, browsing social media or watching TV?

Which side of the equation are you on in each of these? What is coming forth from your heart?

In my recent New Year’s post, I talked about choosing a word to describe the type of person you want to be or a feeling/emotion you want to embrace and exude in this coming year. My word was Wholehearted.

I chose this word for myself because I felt it was time to do some serious heart conditioning this year. I want to make sure that the words from my mouth and the actions in my life are a true reflection of a child of God. That my life and growth bear fruits worthy to our Lord.

Galatians 5:22-24

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

These are the things that show a heart that is Whole. A heart that is full. A heart that is open and willing to serve. Let us protect, guard and condition our hearts to produce these fruits.

Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

I wanted to take some time to dive into this more because whether or not it is your chosen word of the year, I think it applies to all Christians.

I think a lot of us live in the middle somewhere. We’re not lacking in all areas, but we’re not fully living into our potential as humans and children of God. A lot of times we take the easy road.

It’s much easier to complain about the hard stuff rather than face it and find joy in spite of it
It’s easier and much more enjoyable to eat the tub of ice cream rather than deal with the stress and anxiety and learn the self discipline not to
It’s easy to forget about prayer and meditation and sit in front of the television
It’s easier to get angry and raise our voice and say things we don’t mean than it is to remain calm and peaceful
It’s easier to get angry and frustrated at change or when things don’t go the way we planned than it is to be flexible, patient and learn something new.
It’s easier to say that someone else can take care of doing good because “I just don’t have time” than it is to make time and make the effort to do it ourselves.
It’s easier to hold a grudge and stay angry at someone than it is to talk to them and forgive
It’s easier to stay at home on Sundays or Wednesday evenings than it is to make it to church services
It’s easier to sit and stay silent than it is to speak the truth and stand alone

But God didn’t call us to walk the easy path. God called us to give our ALL even when it’s hard.

Luke 10:27

…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind…

James 1:2-3

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

We can not bear fruits of the spirit unless we sacrifice OUR desires to love and serve God and Christ with ALL that we have. Our whole heart. Our entire soul and being. With all of our strength. With every corner of our minds. Nothing should be lacking. But when we do feel weak, God will be our strength and He will make us whole.

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Choosing this word for the year does not mean that I expect to be perfect in all these things, but it will be a reminder to strive to put my heart and soul into everything that I do. And when I feel weak, I will lean on the Lord to fill the holes and strengthen me so that I can serve and act in every way wholeheartedly.

In every situation I will intentionally prepare my mind for the type of person I need to be and think about how someone serving and acting wholeheartedly would handle themselves.