Show Me Your Heart
By Maggi Humphrey
God knows our hearts inside and out. He created and knows every detail, however intricate. Although it is important to share our lives with Him, He knows everything there is to know about us; there is nothing that we could share with Him that He doesn’t already know. St. Faustina told our Lord, “You know every beat of my heart.” And He replied, “‘My daughter, I am told that there is much simplicity in you, so why do you not tell Me about everything that concerns you, even the smallest details? Tell Me about everything, and know that this will give Me great joy.’ St. Faustina answered, ‘But You know about everything, Lord.’ And Jesus replied, ‘Yes, I do know; but you should not excuse yourself with the fact that I know, but with childlike simplicity talk to Me about everything, for My ears and heart are inclined towards you, and your words are dear to Me.’”
Let us never cease bringing everything to the Lord, but every now and then it is good to simply ask God to show us His heart. A very simple prayer, but a very powerful one. It’s an interesting idea but nonetheless, I brushed it off and ignored it for the time being. That is, until a couple of weeks ago.
The other day, I had an off day. It wasn’t bad, just off. It felt weird and although I spent a lot of the day laughing with my friends, I could tell something was missing. As I was driving home from school, I was turning into my neighborhood when a little voice in my head told me to turn around and go spend some quiet time with Jesus in the Church. So, I quickly made a U-turn and a few minutes later, found myself pulling into the empty church parking lot.
After hustling up the steps to the Church, I quietly plopped down in a back pew. The lights were off which gave the sunlight a perfect opportunity to stream through the stained-glass windows and illuminate the entire Church. Even though I was only there for about 20 minutes, I was still able to just sit and take in the beauty of God’s creation that surrounded me. It was quiet, serene, and I was able to sit in the presence of our Lord and just think for a little while. As I was kneeling in the back of the empty church, I thought about knowing God’s heart. I didn’t really know what it meant to see someone’s heart let alone God’s, but nonetheless, I bowed my head, and asked God to reveal His heart to me.
Immediately after praying this short prayer, I stared straight ahead at the huge crucifix hanging on the wall behind the altar. It hit me like a ton of bricks that God had already shown us His heart. He sent his only son down to earth to be tortured, ridiculed, and nailed to a cross, all because He has a heart of love. When the angel Gabriel asked Mary to accept the role as the mother of Jesus, God had shown us His heart. When Jesus decided to start his public ministry, God had shown us His heart. When Jesus willingly bore his cross and died atop Calvary, God had shown us His heart. In that moment, I realized how incredibly beautiful God’s heart is.
I realized that He has a heart, made of pure, sacrificial love.
A heart that loves without limit.
A heart that would risk everything to make sure that I can spend eternity with Him.
A heart that asks for nothing in a return.
A heart that transcends all other beauty.
A heart that just loves me for me.
When I knelt down in the back row of the church the other day, I’m not sure what I was expecting to get out of it. In all honesty, it’s a miracle that I even listened to the voice inside my head telling me to go sit with Jesus for a little while. But when I asked to see God’s heart, my life became a little clearer. My day brightened and I was reminded of my worth and smiled at the thought of the perfect love God has for each and every one of us.
I want to challenge you to ask God to reveal His heart to you. He could show you His heart very loudly and clearly like He did for me. Or maybe, He will slowly start to reveal the love He has for you through the little things. Maybe it will be through the beauty of an empty church, or the sunlight streaming through the stained-glass windows. Who knows? God works in wondrous ways. All I know is that it’s definitely a prayer worth praying.