May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
Psalm 20:4

Cheerios. Simple, healthy, “O” shaped oat cereal, that’s what I use to think till snack time the other day. How can you not smile when you eat heart shaped cereal? I smiled as the little grand shared her snack with me and snapped the picture. Oh this little girl has captured a few hearts.

When I looked in my Bible, the word heart is mentioned 725 times. So much heart in one book. Our hearts are tricky things. They can be broken, but at the same time overflowing. They are weak and yet strong. There are evil hearts, stone hearts, hard hearts, deceitful, wicked, empty hearts. I started with the unlikable aspects I found so I could expound on the likable ones.

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.
Proverbs 12:25

Watching the little grand and her interest in the tiny heart shaped Cheerios I smiled again, my heart filled with joy. How God must smile when we reach out to Him, to take from His hand all that He provides, filling our heart with His love.

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
Psalm 19:8

To squeeze out the unlikable we must have a grateful, joyful, obedient heart. As we are filled with the love of God our hearts will change. Be aware that a heart has the capacity to hold a plethora of qualities. Hearts are giving, seeking, melting, and longing. There are hearts of prayer, hearts of worship, and gentle hearts. We find hearts searching, righteous, upright, and truthful. The mention of hearts and the descriptions are many.

I believe all the characteristics are there. Is it love? Is it hate? Jealousy? Compassion? It is truly what we focus on, what we feed, what we nurture that comes out of our hearts. Prayer, the study of Gods word, fellowship with other believers, and above all knowing the God who created our heart creates the desire to bring out the good. When we fill our hearts with Christ, we can’t help but love. We will find our hearts filled with hope in all He has for us, today, tomorrow, and for always.