How do we live in these times? Why does having a healed heart matter?
There are more distractions now than ever because there are so many opportunities. So many concerns. So much confusion. So many distractions.
How do we live in these times?
There are experts giving just totally contradictory information. We are to honor our leaders. Does there come a point where we don’t just go along with things that don’t make any sense?
How do we navigate this season? How do we live, how do we lead?
There is so much I do not know. So many answers I don’t have.
One thing the Lord has given me in the last few days is James 5:8. It says, “ You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord, is at hand.” NKJ
Many times, especially if you have young children, we want them to be patient as in, “be quiet, leave me alone until I’m ready”. And that’s not what the Lord means when He says to be patient.
The Greek word that’s translated patient in James 5:8 is “to be of long spirit and not lose heart.” (Strong’s) It’s waiting with hope. That waiting also doesn’t always mean doing nothing.
Another meaning of patience is “to persevere patiently and bravely when you’re enduring misfortunes and troubles” and “bearing the offenses and injuries of others”. That hints to why a healed heart is important. The word for patient in James 5:8 is the same word in 1 Corinthians 13, where it’s describing love and saying that love is patient. This is that long-suffering.
It is not being a victim and it’s not being passive.
I think too often in our church religious circles, we have been taught it’s being passive. Just waiting to see what happens.
That puts us in a victim mentality because we’re just waiting to see what happens to us. Like there’s nothing we can do, but just sit here and wait. And that’s not true. It’s not ever true because we can partner with the God of heaven and pray what He wants to release and agree with what He is doing.
While we are patient, while we’re waiting with hope and we’re enduring we are to establish our hearts. The Greek word there means “to make stable, to set it fast, to fix it”. So while we’re patiently waiting, we’re supposed to be strengthening our heart in the Lord.
So we’re not being patient and doing nothing, just waiting to see what happens to us. We’re being patient and strengthening our hearts. We strengthen our hearts by seeing the Lord more clearly and understanding who He is.
The Greek word for heart denotes the center of all physical and spiritual life. It is your soul, your mind as the fountain, and the seat of thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, and endeavors. The center of your will and character in the middle and central in most part of anything. And it also includes the seat of your sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, and passions.
Having a healed heart, having your soul healed is vital to be able to wait patiently and be able to live in these days, how He’s calling us to live.
How he calls me to live – where to get involved or what things to question – might be very different than what He has for you. Being patient and establishing your heart is something that we all need to do. You don’t need to do it as I do it, but it’s still something that you’re supposed to be doing in a hard time.
A wounded heart is easily offended, withdraws, or attacks. A wounded heart compares to find worth, strives, and confuses performance with identity. All these things are magnified when the pressure is on. All these things get in the way of loving and serving well. You can’t lead well if you can’t love well.
If you want to know more about establishing your heart in the Lord or finding healing for your soul in Jesus, please reach out to me. You’ll be glad you did.
Take a quick quiz to see if common traits of Childhood Emotional Neglect show up in your thinking. It can be hard to spot and hard to accept. Take a step toward healing.
