Here's My Heart

My last post was about how the Lord helps us clean up the messes we make by our unrighteous choices. We don't always mean to make a mess. My children don't purposely spill their milk or stain their clothing. But messes still happen.

Sometimes when we are working together as a family to clean something, one of my children is bound to say, "It's not my mess! I'm not cleaning it up!"  I just love that the Savior will NEVER say that to us. If we'll let Him, He will get right down into the mess with us and help us clean it up. Actually, if we'll repent, He'll clean up the whole mess for us.

That is what He did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Of His suffering in Gethsemane, He said,

16 For behold, I, God, have ^asuffered these things for all, that they might not ^bsuffer if they would ^crepent;

 17 But if they would not repent they must ^asuffer even as I;

 18 Which ^asuffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might ^bnot drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

 19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and ^afinished my preparations unto the children of men. (Doctrine and Covenants 19)

His devotion and loyalty to us is incomprehensible to our finite minds. But nonetheless, it is real.

So then why, oh why, oh why do we forget to trust Him sometimes? Why oh why oh why do we forget to just turn our lives over to Him when He has shown us so very many times what He can do with our lives and how much He loves us. Why is it so hard for us to do the little day to day things that He has told us will keep Him near and give us strength? Why do we wander from Him so easily? And why does He keep seeking us out and finding us again and again and again?

Can we give our hearts to the Savior permanently! Can He just take them and seal them to Him?

The words to this song, "Come Thou Fount" (just like the last song) seem to express my heart's feelings the best...

  I have something to say about almost every line of this song, which would just interfere with the opportunity for each of you to have your own personal experience. Pay very close attention to the lyrics and how these words may be coming from your own heart as well...

Come Thou Fount

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

Streams of mercy, never ceasing

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet

Sung by flaming tongues above

Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it

Mount of Thy redeeming love

Here I raise my Ebenezer*

Hither by Thy help I’m Come

And I Hope by Thy good pleasure

Safely to arrive at home

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it

Prone to leave the God I Love

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

Jesus sought me when a stranger

Wand’ring from the fold of God

He, to rescue me from danger

Interposed His precious blood

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it

Prone to leave the God I Love

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, as a fetter

Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it

Prone to leave the God I Love

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

So, now to actually do what this song proclaims...
give our hearts to the Savior. What does that mean to you?

 

 *The word Ebenezer is in reference to when Samuel took a stone and placed on a spot where the Lord had helped him and the Israelites defeat the Philistines. It is a marker representing a time when we identify God's help. Ebenezer literally means, "Stone of help".