If you haven’t noticed, there’s a war going on. This war affects your inner world as well as your outer world. The target is your heart! The bullseye is your identity. 

As scripture reminds us, you are God’s idea. He formed you, named you and breathed His very life into you. If you lose sight of this truth, you will find yourself floundering, wandering and living in all kinds of chaos and self-preservation just to stay alive; just to survive. You are made for something different, something better. 

Many of us have lived in a war-torn world for so long we no longer recognize or are aware of the carnage that lies around us. It shows itself in broken relationships, addictions, disconnection, discontentment, powerlessness and hopelessness. These are not what we are made for. The assault on our minds, our thought life can seem at times relentless. If the enemy of your soul can get you sidetracked and off point then the war is met with defeat. In the battle, life can feel very unsafe and so we move into self-preservation to keep afloat. We numb out or stay really busy, or just flat out ignore what is going on in our heart by disconnecting from it. We don’t always know what to do with what we are feeling or how not to keep things shoved down because it seems too overwhelming or scary to let the cat out of the bag.

This is your reality to cling to. The battle has already been won. You are already seated with Christ in the heavenlies at His right hand. If that seems like a fleeting thought or too abstract it simply means that the war that matters is on the inside.  You have every capability of creating and living in safety inside and walking in peace and rest; the way you were created to live. This is not passive living where you lay down in surrender, it’s a very active and engaging way to live. The peace and rest that flows from your heart comes from knowing you are loved, you are known and you are valued by Jesus. If that seems too trite or trivial, think about a time when you knew you couldn’t fail, you were fully supported and loved. Think about the energy and confidence this produced in you. You felt like you could conquer the world, nothing was holding you back. This is a reality that you can live with everyday. You do not have to live a defeated life where the raging war inside overtakes you.  

The first way to strike back is to realize your heart matters, it’s worth guarding and taking care of. It’s your wellspring. Everything flows out of your heart; which includes your thoughts, your will, your discernment and your affections. This battle is not going to be won if you continue to run at a 1,000 miles a minute, it’s going to require you to slow down and to listen to your heart and engage. What is flowing out of it? Are you exercising your will? Have you learned to trust your gut? What are you focusing your attention on? What you behold, shapes you. 

There might be a war inside where one part wants to calm down because it’s exhausted and the other part wants to keep moving to stay alive. (That’s double mindedness and it creates instability within). This is very common, this is part of the conflict. Being at war with yourself creates a lot of noise. Go on the offense and turn toward it. What is it saying? No one is in trouble. What you’re seeking is reconciliation within your heart and Jesus is at the center of it. He is the answer. Let Jesus minister to those parts of your heart that are stuck in chaos and speak the Shalom peace of God (Shalom – destroying the authority attached to chaos) and allow Him to nurture your heart as you sit with Him. 

As with any battle, it takes strategy, consistency and time. The battles won’t be won overnight but as you become aware of your heart and engage with your heart inviting Jesus as the answer you will experience victory and freedom that you haven’t felt before. A heavy weight will start lifting from your shoulders and the world around you will look very different. 

If this is something that is resonating with your heart, we would love for you to join us at one of our Come Home to Your Heart Life Events. February is already full but check out our website for more upcoming Life Events.