Lisa Ryan I am second video.

Scripture says:

A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed? MSG Proverbs 18:14

Does that connect with you? Have you noticed that the hurt you experience from people doesn’t just go away? It can stick to you? Have you ever walked with guilt or fear or worry for a long time? What does it do to you? It wears you out – doesn’t?

The reverse is true, too. When the doctor says, “You are cancer free,” what does that do to you? It shoots adrenaline into your soul. A five-hundred-pound weight is thrown off your back. You can do anything that day. When your boyfriend, assuming you like him, drops to his knee and asks, “Will you marry me?” What happens? You are thrilled. You come to life.

A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed? MSG Proverbs 18:14

You can’t hide what is in your heart. What is going on in your heart comes out. It comes out in how you deal with life. For example: When you feel defeated and depressed, you can’t fake it. You have less energy. It feels like life is moving in on you, crushing you, and life is winning. In those moments, your life seems dark and depressing.

You can’t hide what is in your heart. What is going on in your heart also comes out in how you treat others. If you have been hurt by someone and that hurt hasn’t been dealt with, what happens? It can leave you angry. You begin to treat others with a sharp edge. Do you know what I am talking about?   That anger in your heart comes out to others. People who deal with you walk away feeling your anger and ask themselves, “What is up with so-and-so?”

You can’t hide what is in your heart. In this video testimony, what did we see? A woman who had been badly mistreated. Raised in a chaotic home. Looking for love and a sense of being normal. She gets married, has kids and that relationship ends up broken. All she wanted was to be loved and she had no idea where to find true love. Then God breaks into her life. “When will you allow me to heal you?”

My question for you is this, “When will you stop in life and allow God to heal you?” Today, I want to talk about how we allow God to heal our hearts. I want to start with ten questions to see if you are running on empty, to verify if you feel broken. Does the following describe you?

Do you have little joy, feel unhappy, frustrated, wanting to just disengage and feel numb?

Do you tend to be reactionary to what others do or say or think about you?

Do you have consistent feelings of being depressed, bitter or angry?

Do you hurt those who are closest to you because you refuse to change your selfish ways of living?

Many teenagers deal with this: Do you experience a temporary emotion and believe that that emotion defines who you are in life? Example: I felt the temporary emotion of being lonely or rejected therefore, for the rest of my life I will act like I am lonely and rejected.

Do you live off of the spirituality of others?

Do you feel scattered, fragmented and uncentered? Always feeling behind, tired and rushed?

Do you feel physically, spiritually, and emotionally tired?

Do you feel like you exist with only one-inch-deep spirituality?

Do you find yourself being in a negative rut that you just cannot break out of? Complaining, gossiping, comparing?

If you connect with any of those questions, chances are maybe, you are probably running on empty. And your heart is worse than you think. You might have a broken heart from years of pain.

I want to share with you what you can do to find healing, but you must know, this isn’t a quick fix. This takes time. This isn’t a formula you follow. It’s about learning how to walk with God. Please hear me, Christianity isn’t about a set of intellectual believes, formulas and religious rules. Christianity is about a love relationship with God. When I say love, that means there is an emotional connection. Christianity is about an intentional relationship with God. Christianity is about an intentional relationship and over time, God will heal you.

Probably the best analogy I can give you is a marriage relationship. Pretend you are single and someone came to you and told you about the benefits of marriage. In marriage, you find your best friend and walk through life with them. In marriage, you are loved and supported by your spouse. In marriage you go places and create memories. When you hear about marriage, you are so excited. You find someone and marry them.

After you are married, you ignore your spouse for weeks and months. You go to work, come home to your spouse and ignore them. You begin to be very frustrated with your marriage because you aren’t getting any of the benefits from marriage. You were told that you would walk through life with your best friend, but that’s not happening. You were told that you would be loved and supported by your spouse, but that isn’t happening.  You were told that you would go places and create memories, but that isn’t happening. You begin to believe, marriage isn’t working.

You can dutifully, religiously do all the right things in marriage. You go to work, pay the bills and faithfully come home to your spouse. But if you aren’t intentional about communicating, going on dates, having time for romance, you will never experience all the benefits of marriage. You may conclude, marriage isn’t working.

Do you see the analogy? You can dutifully, religiously do all the right things in Christianity. You go to work, pay the bills and faithfully come to church now and then. But if you aren’t intentional about building a relationship with God, you will never experience all the benefits of Christianity. You may conclude, the God thing isn’t working.

If you would be married and never intentionally pursued your spouse and expected all the benefits of marriage, that would be a problem. You would be, what we call, a dufus. If you want a healthy marriage, you must fully engage it. Marriage is a love relationship, that means there are emotions involved. Marriage is a love relationship that demands that you are intentional, that means you date, you talk, you serve. Marriage is a love relationship that demands being intentional for a lifetime.

Many Christians today, in North America, view Christianity as a religious event on a few Sundays. That’s not Christianity. Scripture says:

The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you. NIV 2 Chronicles 15:2

I want to explain Christianity. I want to talk about how God can heal your heart.

First, admit you have a broken heart.  Or, you are running on empty.

The majority of people with broken hearts will never be healed. Do you know why? Because of pride. Pride says, I have heart issues that pop up but, I will push through and make it on my own. Some people can even view that as being mature. The ability to muscle up and pull through and show no emotion. That’s not maturity; that’s pride. By their behaviors, they are saying, I don’t need God, I’m not going to turn to God, I will do it on my own.

Specific to men? we don’t deal with heart issues, in general, because we find comfort in moving on. We don’t like sitting and processing emotional heart issues. We would rather watch football than Hallmark.

Guys, listen to me. Most men did not have fathers who took the time to build a relationship with them. To tell them, I am proud of you. To tell them what they needed to hear, “Son, you are a great man.” The day you stop in life and give time to God to tell you that He loves you, that He is proud of you, will forever change your life.

Specific to women: women don’t deal with heart issues, in general, because they feel comfort filling their lives with busyness. It’s the Martha syndrome. Jesus comes to dinner and Martha can only think of all the things that needed to be done. And to make matters worse, her sister Mary is not helping. Mary is with Jesus. Martha was so frustrated, she was comfortable telling Jesus what to do, “Tell Mary to help me.” Ladies, do you find that you run through life so fast, you are telling Jesus what He needs to do?

Please hear me, the day you step away from busyness will change your life. Ladies, not many of you had fathers who adored you. Who built relationships with you. Who loved and protected you. When you stop to hear God whisper into your soul, “You are so beautiful, I am so in love with you,” you will be so filled with a sense of God’s love.

To have a normal, life-giving relationship with God begins when you admit you are broken. Scripture says,

It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” So, let God work his will in you. MSG James 4:6-7

First. Admit you have a broken heart. Please let me ask you: do you have a broken heart?

Second. Get away with God.

Jesus told us:

Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. MSG Matthew 6:6

Get alone with God and Pray: “Jesus, I declare Your authority over my body, soul and spirit. Please reveal to me why I am running on empty, why my heart is broken.”

Begin to journal if it helps. Begin to write out what is in your mind or what you are feeling.

If you are walking in a known sin, tell God and ask Him to forgive you and to cleanse your heart of sin and the guilt from it. In that moment, God will forgive you and wash you clean.

If you are disappointed in yourself because of bad decisions, pray, and tell God, I forgive myself for every bad decision I have made and I ask You to redeem my bad choices. Forgive yourself and know that you shouldn’t be dragging your past into your present. God doesn’t do that and for you to live in victory, you shouldn’t either.

If an old wound or memory comes to your mind, ask God to show you want He wants. What is it that God wants you to know? Have you been healed of this or is this something you have ignored? Ask God to come into that moment to heal you.

If you find that you believe lies, things like, God will never forgive me or God will never love me. Or life will never work out or I will always be depressed, break those lies. Pray, In the Name of Jesus, I renounce the following lies and list them.

I have to say, if you are having a hard time figuring these things out with clarity, see a professional to walk you through these issues.

First. Admit you are broken.

Second. Get alone with God.

Third. Ask God to heal you.

Pray: Jesus, come and do what you promised. Heal my broken heart and set me free. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

What if I told you that those three steps are what Christianity is about? Admitting you are broken. Getting away with God. Asking God to heal you. Doing those things are normal. They are to the core of what it means to walk with God, to be in a relationship with God.

What if I told you, ignoring your heart and pushing through life, isn’t Christian maturity, it’s pride and it actually separates you from God? Ignoring your heart and faithfully, dutifully, religiously doing church things is not normal Christianity. It’s like being married, ignoring your spouse and wondering why you can’t experience the benefits of marriage.

A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed? MSG Proverbs 18:14

I want to end with this. When will you allow God to heal you?