Offer Up Your Heart To God

As God’s people, we were all given free will to choose if we are for or against Him. A common question I hear often is “I don’t see how a loving God could send someone to hell. Why would he want to punish one of his creatures for all eternity?” The simple answer is that God does not want us to go to hell. He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). It’s our very own actions and decisions in our everyday life that cause a separation from God. Hell is not a punishment that God imposes, but rather a separation that has been willfully chosen by a human person.

An individual may choose to remain separate from God. If the individual chooses to remain separate from Him, God will not force a union upon them. But as long as we are alive, we can still choose to turn to the Lord.

There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest. Christ who died for all men desires that in his Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin (CCC 982).

In order to turn away from sin, we must not only run to God, but we must also avoid anything that turns us away from Him. “If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We must first acknowledge our attachment and desires for material things of this world. These material things do not last long and only distract us to what is important which is Jesus Christ. To detach yourself from the world, repeat this prayer to God:

This world is but a passing shadow,
And filled with empty toys,
Its pains don’t last forever,
And neither do its joys.
O Lord, let all my longings
Be fixed on things above.
Not on short-lived pleasures,
But everlasting love!
Amen

Sometimes, we may think a sin we are committing doesn’t offend God. If you do not yet feel convicted of a certain sin you are struggling with, start by praying to remove the desire for that sin. This is an effective step in renouncing earthly ways and following Him. We also may realize something we are doing does not serve the Lord, but don’t know how to give it up. It is important to realize that we can never do it alone. We must pray to God for the strength to continue on His path for us. I personally love to offer up my heart to the Lord and ask Him to make it new. It is important to ask for strength to choose Him in the face of temptation each time as well. Without repentance, there can not be a conversion of heart to Christ. We must acknowledge and remember that our sin crucified our Lord.

Lord, I offer up my heart to You,
I pray that you enter each chamber of my heart,
And make it new.
I pray that you remove the desire to follow my own will,
and to follow Yours.
Please remove the all things and desires
that don’t serve you, Lord.
Amen

References
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard. Zondervan, 2022.
Catechism of the Catholic Church.” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Made with
FlippingBook, www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/268/. Accessed 13 Sept.
2025.
Great, St. Albert the. “Disdain for Worldly Things.” TAN Direction – Catholic Spiritual Direction
From the Saints and Faithful Modern Authors, 5 June 2024,
tandirection.com/pursuit-of-perfection/disdain-for-worldly-things/.