The Condition of Our Hearts
Written By Jessie Thompson, LMSW, LCSW Lasting Peace Counseling
2025 carried storms, turmoil, and testing for our family.
So many things were unraveling, and with them went my joy. As the months trudged on, bitterness, resentment, anger, and sadness began to fill my heart. Alongside the turbulence of our circumstances came impossibly high expectations I placed on myself, to become better, stronger, more holy, more equipped, more obedient.
Each morning I read devotionals that seemed to reinforce a quiet belief: I am not enough. I will never be enough. I have fallen. I am a sinner. I need to work harder. Sermons echoed the same refrain; life is hard and dark, and we are all falling short. Church updates highlighted suffering, brokenness, and the evil of the world around us.
By the end of last summer, I wasn’t just carrying bitterness and anger, I was overflowing with shame. Shame for my sin, my shortcomings, my stress… all of it. I would lay my head down at night swallowed by guilt: guilt about how I spoke to my kids, how I didn’t respond to a client quickly enough, and a hundred other perceived failures.
One morning during prayer, God spoke so clearly that I had no choice but to hear Him:
“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden.”
I am gentle.
I am lowly.
I had heard Him speak these exact words before, eight years ago.
Eight years ago, I was lost. I was not saved. I did not believe Jesus died for me. I wasn’t sure who God was, but I was desperate for direction. And eight years ago He said, “You are tired. Come to me. You are weary. Let me give you rest. I love you. I love you. I love you.”
That was the day I gave my life to Jesus.
Somewhere along the way, in the midst of trauma and darkness, I forgot who He was. I forgot His heart. I forgot that He is good. I forgot that I didn’t have to overperform, become perfect, only have good days, or never feel anger.
In the weeks that followed after He gently shook me awake, God began revealing His heart to me. And in doing so, He revealed my heart as well. His heart is good. His pace is gentle. He is tender, welcoming, and loving. I need to do nothing to earn His love or acceptance, only receive it.
Dane Ortlund, in Gentle and Lowly, reminds us that we do not need to get our lives together and become perfect before coming to Jesus. We do not need to be good enough, unashamed, or without sin. As Ortlund writes, “Your very burden qualifies you to come” (p. 20).
And not only that, He, being perfect, chooses to dwell in my heart. And in your heart. God does not dwell in evil places, my friends. He dwells in good places. That means our hearts are good.
Well-meaning Christians and church services can sometimes drive home the message that we are bad, fallen, and sinful. If we are not careful, that becomes the only story we believe about ourselves. Yes, we are broken people and we are also His children. We are His beloved, His treasured people, those He delights in.
So I encourage you to examine your heart each day. Notice what it is carrying. Notice the beliefs you are holding about yourself, about your worth, and about God’s heart toward you. And remember these truths:
We are deeply and completely loved.
We are worth the death of Jesus Christ.
That is how much God loves you.
