The Heart of the Matter
Joni Eareckson Tada said, “Pain and suffering allow God to refine our character to reveal Christ in us the hope of glory.”
Joni Eareckson Tada knows all about what it feels like to go through that refining fire.
Each one of us have different struggles that test our faith and refine us in the fire of trials. That molding and shaping doesn't come without some pain and discomfort.
I look back at the things that caused me the most pain in life and I recognize that’s probably what it took for God to get through those layers I had built up around my heart.
The earth is made up of many layers. The distinct layers are the inner core, The Outer Core, The Mantle and the Crust. Although scientists are able to use technology to study the 3 inner layers, they have only actually drilled into the crust and it took them 20 years to drill 7.6 miles down!
In the earth’s crust, we can get a pretty good idea of earth’s history with layers of plant life, gravel, sand, skeletons, clay, etc. It is just remarkable the things we are able to discover about weather patterns, disasters, animal life and much more that has occurred throughout the years. But that requires some digging and investigation.
Just like we are limited in reaching the inner core of the earth - we also are limited on getting to the inner core of our own hearts. Only our creator knows our inner heart and thoughts.
For He knows the secrets of the heart. Psalm 44:21
Imagine how thick the layers can build up around our heart. We have layers of pain, layers of guilt, layers of sorrow, layers of bitterness. The events in life can lay foundations of fear and walls of anger and self-protection where people and situations have come after us, where our own minds have attacked us and I’m sure you can think of many other things that can add to our layers that build up over time and form a hard crust around our heart and emotions.
God has to come in and gently peel back and chip down those walls.
As you can imagine, it is a very painful experience and we have to be willing to let him chip those walls and we MUST be willing to let go of those things we are hanging onto.
Do you realize that we can actually get comfortable with our pain and we hang onto it because our brains have been wired to only feel normal when we feel miserable!
One of the things I am learning in my journey..is to let it go a little sooner. :-) The longer we hang onto those things, the more Satan laughs and uses it against us. Satan enjoys when we are miserable and uses it every chance he gets. Lying to us, playing mind games with us and making it seem impossible to let go. He loves to get us at our weakest point as it is easier to break us down when we are weak, tired and exhausted AND when we are in this fearful worrisome state of mind, we are NOT thinking about God. What an evil plan to bring people down and keep their eyes off Jesus.
Yet, with Jesus there is HOPE and HEALING!
As Christians, we know that life is not going to be easy. When we ask God to remake us, we need to be prepared for him to get to work. In order for Christ to be revealed in us, for us to be humbled, for us to really love others we need to let go of “ourself.”
It is not easy and it is many times painful, but in the end it will all be worth it. God has to “Break” us so he can “Remake” us.
Break us of our stinking thinking, Break us of our bad habits, Break us of the lies we are believing, Break us of our jealousy, Break us of our self-loathing and even Break us of how we “think” God should work things out.
This is where faith and trust come into play. We must Trust and Obey - for there IS NO OTHER WAY.
When we “rest” in him and allow HIM to give us “peace” in the storms, he will help us ride out those waves and he will protect us from the fires raging around us.
Remember too, we are not alone, God gives us the ability to do all the steps. It is all HIS work within us that transforms our lives. All we have to do is “Be Willing and Trust and Obey” GOD does ALL the work.
When you read through scripture - you see that God is a giving God. For examples, He wanted to GIVE the promised land to Isreal, God GAVE his only begotten son.
James 1:5
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who GIVES to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Matthew 7:11
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
God love’s you and desires to help you break down those walls and layers, he wants to reach the inner core where no one else sees, where no one else understands, where no one else can bring healing and growth. God wants to break through that crust and get to the heart of the matter and help you realize your true identity and purpose.
1 Peter 1: 6-7 "In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
