It took me a long time to figure this out. Most of my early life was spent avoiding the deeper things of the heart, because that’s where the pain is. Now I see what Eldridge is talking about when he says it’s “gold”. It’s a golden opportunity to experience deeper freedom and joy on the other side of the pain…
DEEPER THINGS OF THE HEART
(John Eldridge – Restoration Year)
When God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us. TITUS 3:5 Msg
God is after something critical: he’s after what is going on in your heart. When you find yourself lost or disoriented, feeling discontented, it flushes deeper things in the heart. Stuff begins to surface, like all those feelings of abandonment or fear or self-hatred. But actually, dear friend, that stuff is gold. Because it opens you up to deeper healing, deeper freedom; it opens a door for transformation and restoration. It prepares the way for you to become a more wholehearted human being.
Open the door, and Jesus will meet you in your fear, anger, shame. Once he gets access to those places, he can do his healing.
Then you are in a far better place to get back to asking what next thing he has for you. Not The Plan, but the next thing. I know that feels small and inconsequential, but the next thing is going to get you to the next-next thing, which gets you to the next thing after that, and the combination of those steps gets you into the place God has for you. As you practice this approach, you develop the one skill that will determine the outcome of your life more than any other: you learn to walk with God.
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Jesus, I don’t need to know everything. I just need to know what you want me to do next. What are you saying to me about the next step in my life, Lord?
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