Oobleck…and Our Hearts

Have you ever done the kid’s science experiment with “Oobleck”? It is a blend of cornstarch and water that defies all explanation. If you squeeze it or punch it, it acts like a solid (think clay or play dough, sort of). But if you release your fist, it immediately melts like a liquid. It may sound strange, but God recently reminded me of this interesting object to describe my heart.

To be honest, the start of this year has been rough for me. I wanted God to join me in my own pity party, but He didn’t. He reminded me that He’s here with me. Then He gently convicted me that I needed to repent of my own selfishness and bitterness, and He allowed me to push the “reset” button on my heart. He brought me to James 4:5-8.

“Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

The word for grace here is charis – God’s “influence upon the heart, and it’s reflection in the life, including gratitude” (Strong’s Concordance). I love this. To me, that means His grace is when He reaches in and gently touches and molds my heart.

I keep imagining this back and forth motion between our hearts and God…
He yearns for my heart to be completely His. So He gently reaches in and touches my heart; He starts to mold my heart and turn it towards Him. If I resist, my heart gets hard, but if I receive, my heart melts…

God wants my heart to melt for him.

Ezekiel 36:26
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

If you are afraid of what it would be like to truly experience the all-encompassing love of God, maybe it’s time to repent. This is not meant as a punishment…Repentance is a gift. It’s letting go of ourselves and choosing to align our hearts with God, agreeing with how He sees things.

As I read about “submitting” in the James passage, I actually get a picture more like, “Present yourselves therefore to God.” Like Esther before the king. Come and present ourselves with an open heart to Him…Come near, and He always draws us in. His heart for us is good.

When I choose to repent, submit, and trust that His heart towards me is good, I see His heart of love for me in a way I never have before, and His love overtakes me, and my heart melts.

This post was written by Heather Dillard. To read more about her, click here.