Hearing or feeling the Holy Spirit has to do with our hearts. He meets us deep inside our souls. When our hearts are allowed to grow hard, we don’t feel or discern his voice. He is still there speaking, but we aren't hearing what He is tenderly telling us about His love for us, His forgiveness, His purpose for us. We've stopped feeling Him.
There are places in my heart that I have rehearsed hurts or guilt until I’ve calloused
over from repetition and friction.
There are places in me that have hurt too much,
so I’ve let them freeze solid so that I can’t feel,
but it starts to frost bite my other places; it spreads.
No matter how hard I try to keep the freeze localized, it doesn’t work.
It keeps me from feeling God’s healing warmth.
There are also places in me that have grown hard from my own sin,
both willful and unintentional.
Sin hardens my heart and keeps me from responding
to God's love and even His forgiveness.
I need God to resurface my heart, I’ve been rubbed raw until I’ve callused over.
I need him to peel back the unforgiveness and give me new skin,
new surfaces to give and receive love.
I’ve grown hard with disobedience and inaction.
I need Him to soften and gently chisel away the hardness
and get rid of the protective layers.
My heart needs maintenance. God is willing to do the work.
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh
and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."
Ezekiel 36:26
This blog is an invitation to join me in this Lenten season (the 40 day period before Easter used to prepare our hearts for God). Last year instead of the traditional denial of self for lent by giving up caffeine or chocolate or television, I decided to add something that would prepare my heart for Easter. I added daily prayers to reboot my heart and make more room for God in it. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
I invite you to join me this year. Each of the weekdays of Lent I I will be posting a daily verse and prayer in my Instagram stories with a quick word from me. I challenge you to listen in and then use the graphics in my stories to write your own prayer. It's a Spring cleaning that doesn't involve any mops or scrubbing! It brings a different kind of freshness with eternal value.
Lent starts this nest Wednesday February 14th and I hope you will join me.