Over the span of four and a half decades, seasons, places, and people have come in and out of my life, beautifully expanding and diversifying my community over the years. I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife, a mom, a volunteer, an employee, and a few other things in between. I relate to different people in different ways, depending on our relational context. Some relationships are introduced briefly in passing, while the roots of others grow much deeper due to time, experience, and some unique heart connections along the way.
Have you ever really stopped to think about the incredible amount of people connections you have on a daily basis?
Today alone, I’ll make eye contact and speak words to my husband, my four children, my kids’ friends, co-laborers in work and in ministry, my next-door neighbor, a dozen international leaders, the cashier in the check-out line, the school secretary, and a hotel receptionist. There will be other unplanned interactions too – ones that are sure to test my patience, and others that will bless me in the most unexpected ways. All will be known by God, dare I say divinely appointed, in one way or another.
Who is it for you, and what words will they hear?
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” – Luke 6:45
What is abundant in your heart today? THAT will steer everything you say and do.
It’s a scary thought for some of us.
Bitterness, anger, impatience, strife, and selfishness are some of the obvious things that overflow when our hearts are full of wickedness and deceit. But what if a deeper view into our hearts revealed things like an unhealthy identity, insecurity, worry, or deep hurt or trauma?
As hard as we try to put on a brave face and fake it ‘til we make it, our hearts eventually reveal all. Sooner or later, the ugliness overflows – a lot of the time, spilling onto the people we love the most. Just like we can’t keep telling our kids to “stop saying that” or “quit doing that” without addressing their heart issues, we too must be willing to do the deep introspective work of examining our hearts to find out what’s really inside, and then be willing to take that brave next step of inviting Jesus into those broken places to forgive, speak truth, heal, and transform us from the inside out.
Is it humbling and hard work? Absolutely.
Will it happen overnight? Hardly ever.
But this hard and holy work of looking in… will have a deep and lasting impact on our pouring out. The ultimate goal? To point others to look up to our God as our source of strength and hope. Keep reading in Luke 6: when the waves come rushing in, a deeply dug, well built, firm foundation in Christ is unshakable. A house built on the Rock stands… and in His strength she can freely overflow with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
If others could peel back the layers and have a good, honest look into your heart, what would they see?
Oh Jesus, let your life, your love, your peace, your ways – your words – invade my heart, change me, and then flow out of me.