"My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways." ~Proverbs 23:26

If you’re like me, you like to check off things on your to-do list. There is something incredibly satisfying about watching your list shrink as you cross off things.

What if I told you that God has a checklist for us and it consists of one thing and one thing only?

Would you breathe a sigh of relief? Would you do what it takes to check that box?

A few years ago, I had an encounter with Jesus. During that encounter, He spoke to me and told me the one thing that He wants.

It was late one night and I was crying out to Him with my entire being. His presence came and filled the room and as I laid there I sobbed as I told Him,

“Lord, I want to give you every wonderful thing because you are worthy of every valuable gift this world has to offer. But Father, I have nothing of value to give you. I am just a broken girl.â€

Through my tears, I continued to say,

“Jesus, all I have to give you is my wretched, broken, dead, chained-up heart. It’s been chainsawed in half, it’s gray and no longer beating, and it’s wrapped in chains…I am so ashamed and I am so sorry that this is all I have. I wish I could give you something better, something more.â€

I felt overwhelmed with depression and shame because the one thing I had to give Him was so ugly. Out of desperation,

I handed Jesus my heart.

I felt ashamed of the condition it was in and I felt ashamed that I didn’t have anything worthwhile to give to Him.

As I held my heart in my hands and stretched out my arms out toward Him, He lovingly walked forward, gently kneeled down, and whispered to me,

“Kristin, this is all I want.â€

I laid there in utter shock.

“What…? All you want is my broken heart? But it’s dead and gross!â€

He spoke to my heart in that moment and helped me understand that all He ever wants from us is our whole heart; regardless of its condition.

As He held my heart, I understood that Jesus truly meets us where we are, even when that place is sinful and ugly.

I was overcome with emotion because I never thought that the King of King’s would WANT my “gift," let alone value and treasure it.

Jesus deserves everything, but all He wants is our hearts.

I can testify that since that night God has taken my once lifeless heart and He has completely healed it, restored it, redeemed it and breathed life into it.

God has done the impossible.

Friend, are you still holding onto a broken heart? If so, please know that He wants to heal it. ““I will give you a new heart……I will remove from you your heart of stone”†~ Ezekiel 36:26 

Have you been struggling to please Him by creating your own to-do list? Are you feeling burnt out and exhausted because you've been doing everything in your own strength?

Have you been trying to work your way to heaven?

His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

There is nothing you can do to earn His love. He already loves you with ALL of His heart.

HE IS LOVE

If you love Him, the greatest gift you can give Him is YOUR heart.

In fact, it’s all He wants.

I promise, when you give Jesus your heart, He will scoop it up, restore it and you’ll come alive like never before. When it's His heart beating in you, you’ll start to live from heaven instead of working towards it.

With Love,

Kristin