Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– George Herbert
Devotional: 7 Reasons Why We Need to Surrender Our Hearts to God
Have no illusions about it, as smart as we may think we are, we can never really look into somebody’s heart and truly figure it out. We can make guesses regarding people’s character, but God is the only real judge of that. He can see things that we can’t see, and he can see us when nobody else is looking. That’s how well God knows us.
Here are the seven reasons why we need to surrender our hearts to God.
Reason 1: Our hearts are rotten
According to Book of Jeremiah, a human heart is completely depraved. There’s nothing redeeming about it. It’s deceptive. It’s cruel. It’s harsh. It’s prone to evil. That’s the human heart.
This might sound depressing but it actually sets the stage to salvation. If you have a disease, you need a doctor. If your heart can’t save you, then you need a savior.
Reason 2: God can turn hearts of stone into hearts of flesh
The Old Testament is clear that God is the only power in the universe that can turn hearts of stones into hearts of flesh. A heart of flesh is necessary because a heart of flesh can love, understand, and grow.
Hearts of stone can only judge. Hearts of stone can only condemn. And worst of all, hearts of stone never grow in God’s love.
Reason 3: God sees our character in our hearts
We need to surrender our hearts to Jesus because despite what other people see, God can see our real nature. And if we don’t surrender our heart to him, then we’re basically only fooling ourselves. People might see a person that returns the tithe fully, volunteers to all sorts of social charities, and does everything “right,” but deep down, God can see the rot. Deep down, God can see the holes in our lives.
We can try to run away from this hypocrisy, or we can try the only solution, which is to surrender our hearts to God because he can turn our heart of stone into heart of flesh. He can take out our rotten heart and give us his heart, a pure heart.
Reason 4: God can write his law in our hearts
Many Christians have this mistaken understanding that the moment they give themselves up to Jesus and allow him to enter their hearts that they are completely new. This is not true.
God does justify you, and you are saved through God’s grace. However, God continues a sanctification process in you for the rest of your life. He needs to transform your heart.
And this is precisely the point many Christians over look. They think that by simple surrendering to Jesus, that’s all they need to do. No. You have to also let the Holy Spirit into your heart so that the Holy Spirit can change your life.
A key aspect to that is when God writes his law in our hearts. When God does this, it becomes harder and harder for us to sin. Why? It’s because our hearts contain the law. Do you see how this works? This is precisely why we need to surrender our hearts to God.
Reason 5: A Christ filled heart is more powerful than a nuclear reactor
The world can be a harsh place. There are times it can be hard to be joyful, with so many things to be depressed about. It’s very hard to love others when it seems that they hate you, ridicule you, and poke fun at you.
Regardless, Jesus said, “Turn your cheek. Love your enemies.” How is that possible?
The truth is that we can do all things if we let Christ strengthen us, and that can only happen when we surrender our heart to God. Your heart will have more power than a nuclear reactor. It would be able to do the impossible. It would be able to love those that hate you. It would be able to turn the other cheek and it would be able to find joy when there’s nothing to be joyful about.
Reason 6: God filled the hearts to light up the darkness
The last command Jesus gave to his followers is to go out to all the world and spread the good news. This is called the great commission.
There’s a lot of darkness in the world because there’re a lot of misconceptions regarding the gospel, regarding God, and regarding the character of Jesus Christ. The good news is that we can be powerful witnesses if our hearts are filled with God’s light. If we are just going to rely on our strength, it is too easy to get discouraged, feel defeated, and keep our light all to ourselves.
By surrendering our hearts to God, our hearts can be filled up with enough light to overpower the darkness.
Reason 7: A renewed heart is the best witness
You don’t have to become a missionary to spread the word about Jesus Christ. You only need to become a better Christian in front of your family. In fact, that should be your mission field. Forget about going to Africa to spread the good news when there are unconverted souls in your household.
The secret to converting family members is not knowing your Bible from cover to back, although that helps. The secret is when they see the gospel working in your life.
This is only possible when you surrender your heart to God, and he renews your heart and changes you fundamentally from an addict or smoker or alcoholic to somebody who lives a clean life. People are compelled to listen to the message you are saying because they saw the profound change in your life.
