My heart - control center - part 2: taking steps to transform

Years ago when I began attending twelve-step meetings, I felt great relief at hearing about the twelve-step goal of “becoming the same person all the time.” I felt as if I were many persons. I wanted one thing one minute and another thing the next minute. I wanted to do the right thing, but I also wanted to get unmet needs met, and that might take a little exaggerating or manipulation. Many times I said and did things I later regretted. 

With this goal in mind, I began working on having an undivided heart: Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. (Psalm 86:11, NIV) To do so, I tried to take all my desires and focus them on God. It took a while to understand that the different aspects of myself needed retraining (reformation or, actually, transformation) before I could follow through to be the same person all the time.  

TODAY’S EXPERIMENT  This may sound odd, but experiment with the psalmist’s method of talking to his soul: Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. (Psalm 42:5) You may wish to use Psalm 16:7-9 to give you ideas of what to say to the various parts of yourself. 

Here are some ideas to get you started in this dialogue: 
-Speak to your mind and feelings, urging them to let the Lord bless them with wise counsel. 
-Speak to your heart (will or spirit), asking it to speak to you at night to remind you that “the LORD [is] always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” 
-Speak again to your heart and urge it to be glad that the Lord is always before you and you shall not be moved. Speak to your soul and urge it to rejoice. 
-Speak to your body and reassure it that it can rest secure.

Johnson, Jan; Willard, Dallas (2014-01-31T22:58:59). Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Experiments in Spiritual Transformation (Redefining Life) . The Navigators. Kindle Edition. 


 

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