Square One
Do you sometimes find yourself wondering, “How did I get back here?” When you think you’re about to get to the end of the gameboard, that sneaky serpent swallows you whole and dumps you right back at the start.
Heart-Vision
Once upon a cold Winter’s night, in our little city of Preston, I was tucking my (then) three-year-old son into bed. “Mum,” he said, with these big, beautiful, brown eyes staring at me in hopeful expectation, “can you sleep with me tonight?”
“No, my darling,” I softly replied, “I have to sleep with Daddy.” Very disappointed with my response, he exclaimed, “Oh, I wish I had a wife!” Knowing that holy matrimony was not the real answer to his nighttime dilemma, I tried to offer some reassurance.
“You don’t have to be afraid, my darling. You know, you’re not alone. God’s angels are all around you, watching over you and protecting you as you sleep.”
“Yes,” he agreed. As I turned to leave the room, eager to get my own bedtime routine going, he added,” but how do I know the angels are really here if I can’t see them?”
Oh no! So close. I could almost feel my but sink into the mattress and now I have to find an answer to a deep, theological question! “Uhm… Uhm…” I fumbled through imaginary folders for a standard Bible School answer I could quickly translate into nursery language.
Just as I was about to lose all hope of having an early night, my darling boy exclaimed, “I know Mum! You can also see with your heart!” Out of the mouth of babes! Here I am, trying to complicate things, and my three-year-old schools me in Truth.
You can also see with your heart.
We are greatly encouraged to keep our minds on things above and not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2), but it’s not always easy to remember that you’re a citizen of heaven when you’re knee-deep in the cares of life.
However, when we look with the eyes of our hearts we see that we were known before the foundations of the Earth were formed. We were designed and meticulously created for a divine purpose that far extends beyond the fleeting moments we experience here.
It kind of reminds me of Sarah, in George Lucas and Jim Henderson’s Labyrinth. After she bites into a peach given to her by the goblin king, she forgets all about her mission to solve the labyrinth and rescue her baby brother before the time is up.
Confused and quite possibly concussed, she wakes up at a rubbish dump, where goblins are hoarding all they can carry and then some. One of them ushers her into a room, that looks just like her bedroom at home. For a minute she believes that she has finally woken up from a bad dream, but the bedroom is just an illusion, masterfully created to divert her focus and rob her of her time.
As she opens the door she is struck with the reality that she is still in the garbage dump of the labyrinth. As the goblin starts stacking all her favorite things on top of her, she shouts: “No! These aren’t my things! It’s all rubbish!”
What if all the cares and the burdens we deal with for the sake of the illusion of a comfortable life are all just rubbish? What if our enemy’s strategy is to divert our attention from our true reality: who we are, what we have, and what we are meant to be.
Are you seeing with the eyes of your heart?
One of my favorite prayers in the Bible is a prayer that the apostle Paul prays for the church in Ephesus:
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe…” Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV *emphasis added
There are things that we need to see with our hearts before we will see them manifest in our physical world. If we can’t see with our heart, how can we call things that be not, just as though they are? (Romans 4:17). After all, without vision, we perish! (Proverbs 28:19).
Heart-vision is vital for living out your God-given plans and designs for your life. Without it, we will never discover…
Who we are: children of God, created in His image and likeness. Pure, holy, and blameless before Him. Treasured, valued, loved. (John 1:12, Genesis 1:27, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 2:9-10).
The inheritance we have in Christ: forgiveness, healing, deliverance, protection, provision, wholeness, peace, love, and joy. (Psalm 103).
The power and authority we have: God has given us the authority over ALL the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19, Matthew 10:1). Ephesians 1:19-20 tells us that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at the right hand of the Father, has been given to us! Take a minute… let that sink in.
I pray that you will find a moment today, to tear yourself away from all the stuff that the enemy has piled on your shoulders. Allow the Spirit of God to open the eyes of your heart and show you who you really are: strong, overcoming, and soaring.
Heart Print:
Today I hear God whisper: “Let the Light of my Word flood your heart so that you can see yourself the way I see you: beautiful beyond words and empowered to reign. Everything you need I have put inside you. Now open your eyes and see!” ❤
Resilient
Today, I hear the Father say: “Beloved Child. It is time to stop fighting battles that have already been won. Overwhelming victory is your reward, simply because of what Jesus did for you. I sent my Son because I love you. Resting in him (Truth) will help you be who you are: Resilient.”