Tuesday, July 26, 2011

(day thirty-three) heart doc: the hand that holds and heals



On the subject of hearts... ours is an essential muscular organ that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thus maintaining the flow of blood through the entire body. Fact: we need a heart to simply live. Our heart is also the vital center and source of one's being, emotions, and sensibilities. A few days ago while my grandpa was having some chest pains, my family found themselves unsure of the man who was determining the source of these troubles. Most of their distrust lied in the uncertainty of the doctor. Whether it was a lack of confidence or sympathy, the fam couldn't help but think something might go wrong. It's amazing what a nurturing and assured heart could've done to ease the fear, restore the hope, and lay the foundation of trust that would get them through situation regardless of the outcome.

Around mid-day He started crashing. Outside the room mom and grandma were left guessing, and begging the Lord for a miracle. Across the state, my cousins and I had the half the youth camp praying in a matter of minutes. At the same moment that I placed my trust in the Father, He placed His power in me to speak life into the hearts of these children. So as the physicians were frantically working to stabilize my grandfather, our heavenly father was performing open-heart surgery on his wounded kids in great need of supernatural tlc. Before our session was over, I got the text saying He was going to be ok! Hallelujah!

Many hearts were healed that day, physically and spiritually. But I wonder how many of us walk around every day with a broken heart and don't even know it. My mom's best friend went to the hospital yesterday with chest pains and is having heart surgery tomorrow. Up to this point, she had no indication that there was anything major going on. (Please take a moment to lift her up in prayer.) Most of us don't realize we need God to do an overhaul on our own hearts until it's at emergency status. Unfortunately the world deals us so many painful cards our negative emotions tend to stack up pretty quickly. We easily find ourselves looking for coping mechanisms that are worthwhile if they can just numb the pain.

Temporary absence of the ache disguises our legitimate urgency for authentic miraculous love.

Let's do a quick little examination. Allow Him to peal back the layers and expose the heart in it's current state. No one person on earth is exempt from this deep longing that lies beneath the surface of our soul; and no human being is farther than God's arm can reach. That's what makes His love so majestic... His grace has found us just as we are. Empty handed but alive in His hands.

As you search deeper: do you find fear, anxiety, restlessness, or uncertainty? Are you able to love others fully and sacrificially with nothing in return? Can you trust our Dad completely, or can you only trust Him to the degree you trust your earthly father? Do you see yourself and others how God sees you?

What God says about himself and us is true, no matter how we feel. He has confidence in who He's created us to be. It's amazing what His nurturing and assured heart does to ease our fear, restore our hope, and lay the foundation of trust that get us through any situation regardless of the outcome. Let the following words sink deep as the ultimate heart doctor reveals His love in a way that will alter your life forever. Take a moment to posture your heart humbly before His feet. I pray that as you read this love letter for YOU, that you will sense your heart in His secure and gentle grip and it will then begin to beat with the rhythm of His own. I truly believe He desires to heal our hearts and transform the body of Christ with His blood that's pumped directly from the cross into the very depths of our soul.


My Child,

You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.

Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.

Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.

Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented
by those who don't know me.

John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.

1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.

1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.

Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.

Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.

Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.

Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.

Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.

Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.

Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.

Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.

John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.

Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.

1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.

Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.

1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.

Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.

Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.

Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…
Will you be my child?

John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32


Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications
©
1999-2011 www.FathersLoveLetter.com


(Side note: If you have trouble accepting God's love for you for whatever reason, make it a point to read this every morning and soak in His truth. As I finished up this blog "How He loves us" began to play. Listen to this song while you sit at His feet and receive. Pray the God connects your head knowledge of Him with your heart. Pray for a TRUE love encounter in yourself, your family, your work, your church, your town... and the world.)

B90: (2 Chron. 15:2- 28:27)

No comments:

Post a Comment