Acts 9:22
“…Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.” [Peter to Simon, the Sorcerer]
What is going on in the deepest places? I usually think of thoughts as emanating from the mind, but here is a phrase that sends me to an underground level: the thoughts of my heart.
These are the truly secret places, the closed places that are only exposed in times of trial or transparency. These are places that I have kept away from others. These are thoughts I might be ashamed to expose.
Psalm 44:21 says God knows the secrets of the heart. So, why do I bother trying to hide?
Keep me authentic today, Lord. Keep my heart open and let me not fear the opinions of others.
I know there have been times when I have tried to allow my secret self to show, but I am a fairly keen observer of people and when I see someone’s body language recoil from my small truths, I wrap my heart back up again. It takes courage to leave the heart open. It takes courage to reveal the thoughts of the heart.
I think the first revealing must start in private time with God. Unveil there since God already knows, after all. It’s safe. It’s a practice test. It’s a place of healing; here the thoughts can be tenderly trimmed like a small Bonzai; here will be some pain, but the end is far more beautiful. With that exposure can come my own acceptance of who I am… what I really think… what I believe. And then, only then, the courage will come to show my “self” to you and you and you.
What do you see or hear from the thoughts of my heart?
Meditations from Zion 
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