Cultivating an Unbreachable Heart

Have you ever been offended in such a way that you just want to stay hurt? Like the wound was so deep that it feels impossible to dig your way out?

I’ve had lots of opportunity this past year to learn what happens when my gut reaction leads, vs. what unfolds when I let my spirit follow the Holy Spirit when I've been hurt.

The 1st feels good in the moment, but is usually followed by hollow regret. The 2nd sometimes stinks initially, but letting the Holy Spirit lead always brings a harvest of inexplicable good, even amidst the hard.

David writes about Jerusalem, the well-built City of God whose “seamless walls cannot be breached.” The root for breached means connection of things knitted close together.

In the same way that the city walls could not be breached, we TOO as little cities who house the indwelling Holy Spirit, can have unbreachable walls if we choose.

Almost every day this week, my husband & I’ve had opportunity for division. The subject doesn’t matter, what DOES matter is how we’ve responded. When we take offense & react to each other’s reaction, a nuclear fusion seems to happen, igniting a larger reaction.🥲

When we allow the walls of our hearts, however to be like oily feathers on a duck’s back, hurtful words become impenetrable & simply slide back down to hell where they belong.

We do not war against flesh & blood. Yes, there are moments when I’d like to draw blood with a good kick in the shin😳, but it’s THOSE moments when we can choose to be 1 with our flesh or 1 with The One Who can lead us through the conflict unharmed.

If you’re married, remember you’re not in it to win, but to be one. We can’t fully BE one until we give God #1 place in our hearts.

It’s when we turn to God & say, “Thy will be done. Bless them & change my heart to love like You love me,” that our hearts become unbreachable. When we allow the Lord to reign as  #1, we experience oneness with the people we want to love AND with the ones who are sometimes hard to love!

Father, lead us to be of one mind with You! Deprive the enemy of any opportunity to breach our walls by knitting our hearts close together with the Holy Spirit. Create in us unbreachable hearts, O God!

#OneYearBible

June 4th One Year Bible Readings

2 SAMUEL 22:1-23:23

ACTS 2:1-47

PSALM 122:1-9

PROVERBS 16:19-20

Facing a Mountain That Blocks Your View of The SON? Let It’s presence Remind You of His!

When I was little, I remember a t-shirt saying, “Look up! Things are gonna get better!”

I think the intent was to look beyond our current circumstances, but sometimes we have mountains before us that block our view, making it hard to feel hopeful.

Psalm 121 begins with, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?”

Some commentaries, say this may have been written when the Israelites were held captive in the plains of Babylon. As they walked in chains, they looked beyond the desert horizon, straining to see the mountains of their homeland, the place their God resided.

Others say that the mountains logistically represent a place of safety, a shield of defense for those who dwell in the valley.

As I read through the commentaries, however, I wondered something different...Today as I write, there are many mountains before me - things that seem firmly planted on bedrock immovable. Some of them feel so big that they block my view of what’s ahead…& yet, here’s the thing:

Maybe it’s these moments, when the mountains loom large on the horizon, that serve to let their presence prompt us to ask about HIS!

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.“

Y’all, maybe you’re facing a mountain of your own this morning…it looms large, blocking out view of The Son?

Well, I invite you on a journey with me to remember what His Word promises Even when all hope seems lost, we have a Living Hope Who promises this:

I will not let you stumble; when I watch over you, I do not slumber nor sleep.

I watch over you & stand beside you as your Protective Shade.

The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. I, the Lord, keep you from all harm & I watch over your life. I keep watch over you as you come & go both now & forever” (Psalm 121:2-8)

Praise you, Jesus, that You are our Protective Shade! May the mountains that loom large serve to remind us of our Lord! You are Lord over the heavens, the earth, the mountains before us & the mole hills in our hearts. Regardless of what we face, we look up & face You, The One Who will not let us stumble over the mountains before us!

#OneYearBible

June 3rd One Year Bible Readings

2 SAMUEL 20:14-21:22

ACTS 1:1-26

PSALM 121:1-8

PROVERBS 16:18

Becoming a PeaceMAKER among a Land of PeaceTAKERS

“I am tired of living among people who hate peace. We search for peace, but when I speak of peace, they want war.”

Do you ever feel that way?👆🏽Like your trying to be a peace-maker among a land of peace-takers?

I do - & have - a lot lately. I desire peace & search for it even, but due to the apparent lack of it, I guess I’m seeking it from the wrong source.

Those first 2 sentences are from Psalm 120. It begins with, 

“I took my troubles to the Lord; so I cried out to him & he answered my prayer. Rescue me, O Lord…”

When we’re surrounded by peace-takers, in our home, job or nation, we’ve a choice to make. We can:

1) React to their reaction & further ignite a troublesome situation

2) Clam up & say nothing, but brew like a crockpot of sour emotions on the inside

3) Pause long enough to ask the Holy Spirit how to respond with Truth sprinkled with grace & seasoned with love.

I’ve become a novice expert of 1 & 2 lately & it doesn’t feel awesome.

When we choose to take troubles to the Lord, He rescues us EVEN IF circumstances don’t change & here’s why:

He IS Peace Whose very Presence trumps all struggle & strife.

Here’s the thing, we are owed nothing from no one. The only thing we do deserve is eternal death for a debt of sins we can’t pay. When we turn to our Savior & remember what He’s done, we can’t help but allow His Peace to reign over unsettled emotions & a bruised heart.

It doesn’t mean we don’t address what’s been said or done, but we can do so with the Personhood of Peace Who goes before, hovers over, settles under & envelops the entire exchange! When we cry out to Peace, His Presence allows the fruit of peace to become evident in & through us!

We can search for peace by trying to persuade someone to revelation, but we’ll always come up short. When we allow the Source of Peace lordship, we can become a peaceMAKER, even when it feels like we live n a land of peace-takers.

Father, shift our gaze to our Source of Peace when it feels like peace is robbed right out from under us. May those moments be as a test where we can show what we know: Peace can’t be stolen because Jesus, You ARE Peace. May we remain in You SO THAT Your Peace may remain in us!

#OneYearBible

June 2nd One Year Bible Readings

2 SAMUEL 19:11-20:13

JOHN 21:1-25

PSALM 120:1-7

PROVERBS 16:16-17