RootedinHisWord

When the World Celebrates Love, God Examines the Heart

It is ironic that this Heart Series emerged during the month of February—a time when love is widely celebrated through Valentine’s Day on the Gregorian calendar. This was not intentional, yet it reveals a deeper connection. While many are focused on expressing love to spouses, partners, friends, and family, far too often the greatest love of all is overlooked—the unconditional, sacrificial, and healing love of God.

February places emphasis on cards, gifts, and outward affection, but God is calling our attention inward—to the heart. He is not concerned with surface expressions alone; He desires our hearts to be fully yielded, healed, and aligned with Him. As people celebrate love with others, God is inviting us to examine whether our hearts are truly postured to receive His love—the love that restores, transforms, and makes us whole.

This series is not about coincidence; it is about divine timing. God, the Master Heart Surgeon, is calling us into a deeper place—one where our hearts are exposed before Him so that true healing can take place. With this perspective in mind, we revisit last week’s message—an invitation to allow God to lovingly expose our hearts and perform open-heart surgery so He can heal what only He can.

Last week, we began an intentional and necessary conversation about the heart—allowing God to expose it and perform what I described as open-heart surgery. This is not a comfortable process, but it is a required one for anyone who truly desires healing, freedom, and spiritual maturity.

At the center of that message were three questions I invited you to ponder deeply:
Where is your heart?
What is in your heart?
What does your heart treasure?

These questions are not meant to be answered quickly or casually. They require honesty before the Lord.

Scripture reminds us that the heart is not simply a physical organ. According to the New American Standard Bible, the heart is defined as the mind or the seat of emotions. It is the place where decisions are formed, motives are rooted, and actions are birthed. That is why God is so concerned with the condition of our hearts.

Before any major heart surgery in the natural, there is preparation. Even physicians and dentists collaborate, because infections—especially those hidden—can impact the heart and lead to serious complications. In the same way, God does not rush the process. He exposes hidden infections of the soul—unhealed wounds, unrepented sin, bitterness, pride, fear—before performing His divine work.

Spiritually speaking, for the heart to be healed, it must first be exposed.

Scripture reveals that many hearts have drifted far from God.
Isaiah 29:13 tells us that people can honor God with their lips while their hearts remain distant. Jeremiah 17:9–10 reminds us just how serious this condition is: the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, yet the Lord searches and tests it, rewarding each person according to their ways.

God does not look at outward appearance. He looks directly at the heart.
As we are reminded in 1 Samuel 16:7, while people focus on what is visible, the Lord examines what is internal. Jesus echoes this truth in Matthew 12:34–35 when He explains that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Our words reveal what is truly stored within us.

So I ask again—what kinds of words are coming from your mouth?

Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 22:37 that loving God requires our whole heart, soul, and mind. Yet Matthew 13:15 warns us that hearts can grow dull—unresponsive, resistant, and closed off from healing. Still, God graciously offers restoration. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, He promises healing when His people humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways.

Many times, when we ask “Where is your heart?” the answer is painful but revealing. Our hearts can be tied up in unresolved afflictions—brokenness, abandonment, mistreatment, fear, doubt, hopelessness, sickness, or greed. Notice how personal those things become. They turn into your wounds, your fear, your pain—things we cling to when we refuse to allow God to heal us.

Yet Scripture offers hope.
Psalm 147:3 assures us that God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Romans 5:5 tells us that hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

The Word also warns us about misplaced trust. Proverbs 28:25–26 reminds us that greed and self-reliance lead to conflict and destruction, while trusting the Lord brings safety and prosperity. Hebrews 13:5 further encourages us to live free from the love of money, resting in God’s promise that He will never leave or forsake us.

When we walk in the Spirit, our focus shifts. We no longer live consumed by past pain, fear, or hopelessness. Our attention turns toward serving, worshiping, and trusting the Lord—in spirit and in truth.

The world often praises rugged independence, but God calls us to dependence on Him. We cannot see the future or control outcomes, but He can. Galatians 6:9 reminds us not to grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart.

Where your heart is—that is what truly fills your heart.

God is ready and willing to give us a clean heart. He desires to remove the debris of hurt, guilt, shame, doubt, fear, deceit, hatred, and hopelessness. Joel 2:13 calls us to rend our hearts—not just outward appearances—and return to the Lord in genuine repentance, knowing He is gracious, compassionate, and rich in mercy.

No matter how spiritually mature we believe ourselves to be, purity of heart is often revealed by our speech and our responses. Controlled, life-giving words flow from a heart surrendered to God.

The question now is not whether God is ready—He is.
The question is: Are you ready for your heart to be exposed before the Lord?

The Heart Surgeon awaits.

Stay tuned for the next post in The Heart Series as we dive deeper into the question: “What’s in your heart?”