Staring Through Bars (Part 3)

Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies of a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1,2 KJV The Holy Bible)

…be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.

The ‘renewing of your mind’ is the beginning of sanctification unto the Lord. In fact, this is one of the most amazing after effects of coming to Christ. If you have experienced the amazing transformation of your thoughts, your ways and your desires, after allowing the Lord into your heart, you understand fully what this means. For those who are not walking with Him, please know this is possible for you! (If you have accepted Jesus but aren’t receiving this cleansing…I urge you to examine your heart and your walk in life. PLEASE – Do not take this statement as a negative – if we are not equipped with spiritual tools and knowledge, afterward, sanctification may be a foreign concept.)

Sanctification begins with allowing God to plant the seed of his agape love into your heart. By accepting His amazing, transformational, unconditional love, God starts to break down the walls around your heart: some He removes quickly (like a Band-aid!), others, over time. You may be reading this, thinking that you don’t have walls but trust me, all people have built some sort of fortress around their heart, of varying heights, out of self-preservation. It merely depends on what type of life experiences you’ve had. Regardless, you will start to recognize a sense of freedom when He starts working on you. Albeit, not after revealing some hard realities first, so you know what area He is chipping away at.

Allow me to provide an example: Our society is laden with people who grew up in a single family home; oftentimes, children grow up never knowing or being fully accepted by one parent. This is both sad and a pawn of the devil, meant to disrupt your path and joy in life. Hence, on a spiritual level, a person suffers with abandonment issues…issues that are sometimes so subtle, they are left undiscovered. On an emotional level, this sense of abandonment manifests outwardly as self-sabotage, lack of self-worth, emotional eating, bulimia…and the list goes on. All psychological disorder comes from a spiritual place, either one passed down through generational iniquity or from trauma (and a parent’s trauma can also be passed on so take heed…)

When God gets a hold of you and begins the process of healing your spirit and then your heart, it will filter up to your mind. The negative thought processes you have will no longer seem normal or acceptable – because they aren’t. God’s love is a cleansing love (1John 1:7). But this does not mean it’s an easy process:

“Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses… (loving) the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level…” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

In order for God to heal us, he has to reveal to us the innermost, hidden things about ourselves, to us. Things we may not even be cognizant of but are affecting our lives, nonetheless. If you do not allow God into the deepest, most secret place in your heart…you are hindering not only your life but the authenticity of your relationship with Him. Remember, HE want’s ALL of you: mind, body and spirit. When you receive Christ, you belong to God (we do anyway, but we truly do once we receive Christ Jesus as our savior).  Submitting unto him is not easy, not natural, but it’s life changing!

Isaiah 42:6-7 (broken up a bit):

“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee…To open the blind eyes, to bring prisoners from prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”

Prisoners in this instance, are people in bondage, prison houses are their tormented spirits. God wants to free you of the bondage that keeps you in chains, that hold you back from sitting in his undeniable yet unexplainable peace. He wants to lead you to this and to live in true joy. But unless you allow Him access…you will stay locked up.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.