Fill Your Heart With God 

   “God does not fit in an occupied heart.” (St. John of the Cross) 

   Every now and then I find it helpful to just sit quietly and consider what is in my heart.  I believe God is a jealous God, He doesn’t want a place in my heart, He wants my entire heart.  If I’m unwilling to give it, I limit what God can do in my life.

   The interesting thing is that the more of my heart I give to God the more He gives to me.  If I give Him my pride, He gives me the humility to realize that I am no better than anyone else and most likely worse than some others.  If I give Him my anger, He gives me peace.  If I offer Him any suffering I may have to endure, He gives me comfort, reminding me of how Jesus suffered for me.  For every worldly thing I give up, He fills my heart with more and more of His spirit.

   We often say we have given our heart to our spouse or perhaps our children, and it is right that we should love them deeply.  But the love we want to give them can be increased a hundredfold by loving God first and foremost.  The more we love Him, the more love we will have to share with others.  Whatever we offer to God, He returns with interest.

   If we are to love God and allow Him to love us as He desires, we must empty our heart so that He can fill it with what is good.  If our heart is full of worldly matters there is little room for God.  When it is filled with God, blessings will flow freely from the God who loves us.