How To Unite A Divided Heart

When our wants are polar opposite, our hearts are divided. The resulting heart-strain is inevitable and it cannot go on forever.  One desire has to win out over the other, or both must be released for the sake of something greater.  This morning I read Psalm 86:11, "Teach me Thy way O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth. Unite my heart to fear Thy name." 
Unite my heart to fear Thy name. In those situations when our heart is divided - we want THIS, but find ourselves doing THAT, or we want THING A when we are in SETTING A, but when we find ourselves in SETTING B we couldn't care less about THING A - those are the times we need a spiritual reality check.  A house divided against itself cannot stand - That isn't just an Abraham Lincoln quote, it is a Jesus Christ quote.  
Not only can a divided heart not persist, but a divided church cannot either.  Charles Spurgeon described it this way in his sermon on September 25, 1859, "It is one grand and grievous fault with the church of Christ at the present day, that it is not merely divided somewhat in its creed, and somewhat also in its practice of the ordinances, but alas, it is also somewhat divided in heart. When the differences are of such a character, that as people of God we can still love each other, and still unite in the common battle against the cause of evil and in the common end of building up the church, then there is but little that is faulty. But when our doctrinal divisions grow to so great a head that we cease to co-operate; when our opinions upon mere ordinances become so acid towards each other, that we can no longer extend the right hand of fellowship to those who differ from us, then indeed is the church of God found faulty."

So what is the cure for division? Whether it is within our own hearts or within the collective heart of a people?  God is our only hope.  We are naturally bent toward division and it is the Holy Spirit of God alone who can reconcile. This prayer of David, "Unite my heart to fear Thy name," can be our guide as we pray.  The goal of a unified heart isn't to alleviate pain, it is to see proper function and prosperity restored. When the pieces of a machine work against each other rather than with each other in harmony, the machine breaks down and no profitable work is accomplished.  The same is true in our hearts and amongst us.  We are capable of bringing about amazing good in the world when unity is restored.  God is the only force in the world that can completely control us without destroying us.  To give way to any other thing that promises unity or a higher purpose for our actions is to open the door to eventual pain and a further dividing of our hearts.  The cure for a divided heart begins with a prayer that puts the warring desires on the table before a God worthy of praise, adoration, and devotion, seeing each desire as subservient to Him and His purposes.  Then, to stand back and see what He does with them and with us. Rest assured. It's gonna be good.

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