BE OPEN AND RECEIVE

Pain is real. It cuts deep and is often times unrelenting in its assault on our psyche and emotions. For many of us, we’ve been as its every whim for as long as we can remember. When it pulls, we follow. When it torments, we cower. It is every bit as legitimate as emotions like love and joy, even though we rarely experience either. In short, pain hurts. Its power to transform how we think, or what we feel is legendary, but God’s power to heal isn’t.
It’s time to disconnect the “off switch” in our hearts and minds that hinder us from experiencing the fullness of love, joy and peace that God longs to give us. It is time for us to hand over our inner aches and gut-wrenching pangs to the only one who can kiss and heal them. It is time for us to be open and receive.
God created us to have feelings and emotions. They are not evil. They are not immaterial. Allowing ourselves to feel can be frightening. We worry that we will be hurt or wounded. Life is full of people who will hurt us, say horrible things about us and perhaps do things that are simply not fair. But God is a healer and He lives on the inside of us. He will be there to hold us when we cry and tend to our pain.
Opening our hearts to receive God’s love and healing is essential to allowing our inner, broken places to be restored. By continuing to stunt our emotions and feelings, we perpetuate the cycle of pain and emotional affliction. Have you ever seen a hamster on its wheel? It runs and runs and runs and it gets nowhere. It remains stationery, despite the fact that its body is in a constant state of motion. The same holds true for shutting off our emotions.
We’ll find ourselves going through the motions in life and never fully getting anywhere. We’re no closer to preventing others from hurting us or keeping disappointing moments at bay. We’re simply spinning our wheels with very little to show for it. Want to change that? Then ask God to open your heart. Ask Him to help you receive His healing love so that you no longer have to “spin your wheels.” Opening your heart to God allows Him to begin the process of healing your emotions. It allows Him access to the closed off areas in your life so that He can breathe restoration, wholeness and joy into the depths of your soul.
Similar to how Hindus exercise their faith through the worship and devotion of a single god, seekers of God’s presence should exercise their faith through the worship of the One True God. To do this, they should simply unclench the closed parts of their soul and ask the Father to come in. They should petition the Father with opened arms saying, “Heal me this day Lord. My heart’s open. I receive you.”
 

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