“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” – Luke 6:45

Do you want to be someone who’s speech and actions reflect the heart of Christ? I’m sure you do, and that is what prompted you to take a moment and read this devotion today. However, we often get frustrated because, no matter how hard we try, we can’t seem to speak and act with the kind of Christlikeness we desire. The issue is that we attack this problem from the wrong direction. We simply try harder to say and do what we know we should. But we quickly discover that this “trying harder” doesn’t produce the results we are looking for. Jesus, in Luke chapter 6, gives us the proper solution to this problem. You see, our speech and actions are simply the natural outflow of what exists in our hearts. So the answer is not that we should try harder, but that we should concentrate on the storeroom of our hearts. Instead of worrying about what comes out of you, worry about what you put in. How much time do you spend in God’s word? How often do you pray, conversing with Him? How much time do you spend in mutual encouragement with God’s people? All of these things will increase the good in the storeroom of your heart, and by default, produce the speech and actions you desire. Lord, teach us to intently maintain the storeroom of good in our hearts, so that we may be filled with You and reflect Your love and character in all we do.