January 2018 – Blessed is She

Hardened Hearts and Those Who Love Them

Image result for hardened hearts

What do you do when your loved one’s heart seems to be hardening towards God and towards you? Maybe, your marriage was previously redeemed from brokenness and betrayal but now you are seeing red flags that indicate things may be going south again. How do you relate to your spouse without being consumed with trying to rescue them and save your marriage in the process? It’s tough! The following is just some thoughts with regards to what I have concluded from my own journey.

WAIT for the leading of the Holy Spirit…
Sometimes it is more HURTFUL than USEFUL to try to speak TRUTH and have an intimate conversation or confrontation with someone you love who’s heart is hardened. This is especially true if you are hoping for a certain response that would give you some indication that their heart is softening. Please don’t tell me I am the only one who has done this?? You want hope. You want to see a glimmer of evidence that it’s not as bad as you think it is. You do not want to get hurt again by the same destructive patterns that you have experienced in the past. Without being led by the Holy Spirit, you are setting yourself up for discouragement and even despair. Many times they will care more about giving you their opinions than taking into account your feelings. Friend, when God is leading you, He will give you peace no matter the outcome of the conversation. You will be able to share your heart and then be assured that you have did what He laid upon your heart and can trust Him for the future outcome.

Even though your deepest desire is to see them grow towards Christ and your heart is broken by their unloving/selfish attitude and choices, your best response is to LOVE them AS THEY ARE (as Christ has loved you) and continue to PRAY for them. Unfortunately, you can’t expect them to receive truth from you if they are actively running from THE ONE who IS TRUTH. YOU can’t change them, fix them, or make their choices for them. I understand how incredibly hard this is, especially in marriage.

The truth is, true love gives freedom not control, manipulation or punishment. The choices they are making may lead to costly consequences and even the demise of your marriage but that is their choice to make. Subsequently, these consequences may be the very thing God uses to draw them back to Him.

Friend, until there is a Divine heart change, your words may only push them farther away. Be very careful and pray for God’s wisdom. He will lead you as to when to speak and what to speak and what actions to take, if necessary. Until then, avoid hurtful conversations and simply guard your own heart and leave theirs to God. This is where “let go and let God” becomes more than just a good quote but love in action.

May you find comfort in KNOWING God hears your prayers! In ONE sudden moment HIS LOVE can change even the hardest of hearts! HE is able! TRUST Him! BELIEVE He is working beyond what you see! My hope is that one day you will find that it is truly a BEAUTIFUL thing to witness the transforming power of God’s amazing grace as YOU have a front row seat!

No matter what, you can be assured that just as HE is working in their heart, he is working in YOUR heart, as well. You can trust God to help you handle the outcome even if it is not the desired outcome your heart longs for. Continually surrendering our loved ones to JESUS is not easy but painfully stretches our faith towards maturity that wasn’t there before. Though it may be hard to see now, your growth in Christ is priceless and purposeful. Embrace it and never stop believing! Our God is FAITHFUL!

God, your God will cut away the thick calluses on your hearts and your children’s hearts freeing you to love God, your God with your whole heart and soul and live, really live.
Duet. 30:6 msg

“A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions” (Pr. 18:2).

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better.
Eph 1:17

Don’t waste your breath on a rebel. He will despise the wisest advice. Proverbs 23:9

And I (God) will give you a new heart—I will give you new and right desires—and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love.
Ezekiel 36:26

LikeShow more reactions

Comment

Comments

Write a comment…

Embrace YOUR Place

Questions to ponder….Is Jesus ENOUGH for you? Can you simply TRUST HIM and be at peace? Can you just be content right now, right where your at, in THIS place, EVEN IF nothing changes this side of heaven? Will you BELIEVE his WORD is true for YOU!!

So many times we say we trust and we say we believe. We sing about God’s faithfulness and declare that HE IS ABLE and yet we walk around FULL of worry, fear, anxiety, doubt, and discouragement. That is NOT the fruit of trusting and believing!!

SO let me ask…What if what you are praying for does not come to pass this side of heaven? OR what if the thing that you fear happening actually happens…. (the things we worry about usually don’t occur but just go there with me for a moment). What then? Can you trust that GOD is STILL in control? Will you believe that HIS love for YOU never changes even though your circumstances do? Will you trust HIS ways when you can’t always understand?

Instead of trying to pray away your difficult season, embrace YOUR place! Open your eyes and your heart to what God may be trying to teach you. Challenges can be blessings in disguise because they are opportunities for growth and teachable moments that would have otherwise been missed! SOME things simply can’t be taught by books or sermons but by REAL life, pain in the gut, keep breathing, keep moving, keep holding onto Jesus kind of days!

Consider this…. God has already demonstrated how extravagantly He loves YOU by sending Jesus to REDEEM you! However, HE didn’t stop there…He then gave you the gift of the Holy Spirit to fill you with ALL that you would need in order to live out the God-given plans and purposes HE has ordained specifically for YOU! If HE never answered another prayer, is THAT enough?

This journey is NOT an easy one but it IS a temporary one!! Don’t wait for things or people to change to embrace the LIFE, JOY and PEACE that is yours. You go, you grow, you shine brightly right where you are!! IN Christ, no matter what kind of mess surrounds you there are mercies to uphold you!! WHATEVER you may be facing, it is only a small chapter of a much BIGGER story that goes way beyond the here and now.

Friend, EMBRACE YOUR PLACE in Christ! This very day is a gift and God has a PURPOSE in giving it to YOU!! Yes, even if it IS a tough day, a painful day, or a bad hair day…our Jesus is ENOUGH!

..in Him you have been made complete…Colossians 2:10

Believe!

Sister, do you desire righteousness to be credited to you as it was with Abraham?

Can I encourage you for a moment? Today and everyday choose to BELIEVE God’s Word in spite of how you feel or what is coming against you. Respond to life with belief in God’s promises as your anchor. This means that no matter what you see before you, what unforeseen or unintended circumstance is staring you in the face, no matter what has broken your heart, you will BELIEVE God and walk in confidence knowing that He is the ultimate promise keeper! I KNOW this is NOT easy but GROWTH never is! Be brave and do it any way and experience the peace and faithfulness of our God!

Will you be a woman of FAITH and COURAGE and pray this prayer with me?

Lord, Help me to continually BELIEVE as Abraham believed and GROW strong and be empowered by FAITH as I praise and give glory to YOU! May I be fully satisfied and assured that YOU ARE ABLE to keep your Word and to do what you have promised. Lord, help me to embrace these growing pains as I surrender my mess and tenaciously choose to BELIEVE your Word above all!!!

Romans 4:20-24

No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised. That is why his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God). But the words, it was credited to him were written not for his sake alone, but they were written for our sakes too. Righteousness will be granted and credited to us also who believe in (trust in, adhere to, and rely on) God, Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.