The Treasure of the Kingdom

I have written previously about experiencing seasons of being “hemmed in” by God.  Seasons in which things in my life have been quiet and there was no apparent outlet for creative ideas and visions to be expressed.  Those were often discouraging times that left me with a bit of a broken heart.  Times when I was confused about God’s direction for my life, confused about whether the dreams He has begun to stir and vision that He provided were ever going to be used or released.

Proverbs 13:12 says it well when it states that “hope deferred makes the heart sick.”  I have definitely experienced a heart-sick feeling in many recent seasons of my life.

However, God has recently been impressing upon me why He has hemmed me in at various times. 

Over the course of the last 5 years especially, God has shown me what is most precious to His heart.  He has shown me that what is most precious to His heart is my heart.  That my heart is the treasure of His kingdom.  Not my service to Him, not my potential to advance the Kingdom, not my ability to be productive for good (and even great) purposes, but my heart.

That is a pretty radical thought, given the world that we live in.  We live in a world and a system in which productivity and profit and gain is often valued over health, wholeness, quality of life and relationship. 

This is as true in the world as it is in the church.  Well-meaning people who want to “do” for God, want good things to help the world and the body of Christ, who just don’t place value in the treasure of the human heart.  I submit it is because they just don’t understand the importance of it.

What value does God place on the human heart? Well, He says in Proverbs 4:23 "above ALL else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."  So I submit that it is of the utmost importance to Him.

The shift in my heart since beginning to understand this has been considerable.  What used to feel like heart-sickness has transformed into heart-fullness.  I feel loved, really loved.  That God has quieted my circumstances in order to pour love into me.  He has protected me from “good” things in order to set me apart for great things.  The greatest being receiving much needed love from Him.  He has invested so much in me and wants to guard that which He has poured in.  I am in awe of that kind of love.

My hope is that you will reflect on the seasons in your own life of being hemmed in and ask God to reveal to you, with fresh eyes and a soft heart, His loving purposes in doing so.

Peace and joy to you.