If you have a really hard time not giving into areas of weakness, want to humbly understand the ins and outs of your heart, and/or are always searching for good resources to move you further into godliness, a recommended 2020 release is With All Your Heart: Orienting Your Mind, Desires, And Will Toward Christ by A. Craig Troxel. You’ll appreciate the author’s Scripturally backed explanation of human desires and struggles and find practical help for developing greater repentance, self-control, and self-discipline in your life. After reading this book and learning even more deeply from the verses it references, you’ll catch your feelings and thoughts working together (sometimes for good and sometimes not) and experience new strength from Christ for making better decisions.

A Basic Overview Of With All Your Heart

The world tends to define the heart as the source of a person’s emotions.

But the Bible defines the heart as the entire governing center of a person that incorporates:

• What you know/think (MIND)
• What you love/want/feel (DESIRES)
• What you choose to say yes or no to (WILL)

The Mind Of Your Heart

Foolishness, blindness, bias, self-absorption, and self-deception are all wrapped up in our sinful minds. We need Someone to tell us the Truth.

This transformation of our mind into a better knowing is not an instantaneous act, but rather a process of growth by Christ in you, all day every day.

The Desires Of Your Heart

The problem isn’t with having strong desires. Where we get into trouble is selecting which desires to encourage and which ones to subdue. We need Someone to wash the heart clean.

Christ is committed to seeing His people grow minute by minute in holiness by consecrating the desires of our hearts, and helping us grow even further in enthusiasm – for Him and His work.

The Will Of Your Heart

The heart constantly struggles between resistance to what and Who is good, and lack of resistance to what and who will lead us astray. We need a gracious and powerful King to intervene in such strong-willed sinners to help us choose well.

Sin is always present in us, but so is Christ. In our ongoing Teacher-disciple sessions with God, the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and examines our hearts, keeping us by persevering in us.

And He asks us to join Him in the keeping of our hearts, our whole hearts.

Keeping Your Heart

Keeping means: preserving and protecting, looking inward and outward.

Looking Inward

We don’t see our sin without God’s help. Once awakened, the Spirit of Christ leads us to pursue, develop, and nurture a contrite heart, which is a healthy heart. 

He ministers His living truth to us through His Word, and longs for us to slow down, study, and absorb His promises and instructions so that they can change us.

Looking Outward

We need to regularly employ a variety of prayers to guard our hearts against the Enemy and all his lies, schemes, and allies.

Preventing sin from having access to our hearts will guard our hearts from corruption and make them shine with godliness. Ultimately, what we choose to see and hear engages our heart and shapes our actions and words.

Conclusion Of With All Your Heart

Long obedience to the One who sees all that our heart thinks, loves, and chooses will reveal the power of Christ’s grace at work.

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Prov. 4:23, NLT)