Cut to the Heart

A lead weight had settled on his heart. It surrounded his heart. It squeezed his heart.

It cut his heart.

All around him, people were crying. Crying! The tears created a translucent sheen on the faces of everyone around him. It caught the late morning sun, making everyone shine.

What should he do?

"Brothers, what shall we do?" He didn't realize that he had spoken out loud. But apparently he wasn't the only one with this cry. Everyone around him was asking the same question. The disciples looked slightly overwhelmed or bewildered. The response was phenomenal.

But why wouldn't it be? Clearly everyone, himself included, had been cut to the heart by the words Peter had spoken about Jesus. Certainly the only thing he could say was what could he do? What could he do to serve God?

Based on Acts 2:37

"Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.' And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, 'Save yourselves from this crooked generation.' So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls." Acts 2:37-41

I read these verses, and two parts really stand out to me. "Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart," and "Brothers, what shall we do?" When the people heard Peter's testimony of Jesus and who He was, they were cut to the heart. It impacted them. It touched them. In those moments, they were changed. They were so moved, that the only thing they could say was, "Brothers what shall we do?"

I read that, and wondered when was that last us? When were we last moved and cut to the heart to such an extreme point that all we could say was, "What do I do next, God? How do I serve You, God? How do I get closer to You, God?"

As unappealing as it sounds, a cut to the heart can redirect your priorities back to God.

But...

Why does it often seem to take a cut to the heart, to get our priorities back to serving God with everything we've got?

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" Luke 12:34

Where is our heart? That's a sobering question... Usually that cut to the heart helps us realize where our heart has been hanging out. Lots of times, it's not focused on God. Our treasure is usually everything but God.

Why wait until you've been cut to the heart? Today, here, now, stop. Put you heart back on God, and let your heart's cry be, "What shall you have me do, Lord?" Make Him your treasure again.

V. Joy Palmer