In the book Waking the Dead The story of a heart fully alive.
John Eldredge has challenged me into a new way of thinking.
I would recommend this book to any one who has a heart for the Lord and a desire to move deeper into a spiritual walk with Him.
He focuses on the heart of a person.
Proverbs 4:33- Guard your heart because it is the wellspring of your life.
Guard your heart…
John talks about the heart of a person all throughout this book. He shares how when Jesus was here he surrounded himself with a group of friends. He was not alone.
Our spiritual journey is never alone.
It can’t be for if we are by ourselves we cannot be challenged or encouraged or uplifted.
Jesus was our example.
He took time to be alone for a short time then he gathered himself back into the group. It was a community of friends who checked in daily to watch over each others heart. John says the fellowship of our hearts is critical to our growth. John says “If you believed your heart was the treasure of the kingdom…How would you live differently?”
He says, “Caring for your hearts isn’t selfishness; it is how we begin to love.”
“If your heart is empty you can’t love others – you can’t love well or fully unless your heart is well.”
“If your heart has been broken it must be mended to go further into the kingdom walk.”
We mend our hearts by allowing God to heal us.
Asking Him to show us where the broken places are taking residence
and creating a stumbling block for us to fully love.
John says, “When it comes to the whole subject of loving others, you must know this; how you handle your own heart is how you will handle the hearts of others. If you dismiss your heart you will end up dismissing theirs.”
He asks the reader, “Who do you know who would be safe to call at 2:00am if you needed to. If you choose a name that wouldn’t be safe, why wouldn’t it? Because you know they would not listen to your hurting heart. The decision comes from how they would handle your heart cry.”
Today my challenge questions for us all are these:
Are you caring for your heart? Are you guarding your heart?
It is a spiritual question.
I pray that we can all say as we move through lifes journey:
My heart matters to God.
My heart always mattered to God.
Lord open the eyes of my heart so I may see you…and allow you to heal the places in my heart that are not open to myself, to others and most of all to YOU. Help me always to know this spiritual walk is all about matters of my heart.
Help me Lord to care for my heart so I can care for the hearts of others.