We’re still on this theme of cultivating pearls in our souls (at least I am!) And as I’ve pondered the reality of new walls rising up with the presence of a new struggle, I want to make sure that I am building and fortifying the right kind of walls. I want walls that will protect and aid in the process of what God is forming in me, not hinder it.
I think one of the most important ways our God-given, self-protective instincts can agree with Heaven’s intentions in our struggles is by carefully choosing what we allow to influence our hearts.
I noticed, while still immersed in my last struggle and looking for great pinterest quotes to accompany my blog posts, that there was an abundance of contradicting messages. All of them pulled on my heartstrings, but not in the same direction. I had to be wise about which ones I allowed myself to meditate on, and which ones needed to be quickly discarded.
If we are going to see beauty come out of our struggles, we must not build walls with that which pets our pride. We must build walls with that which agrees with what God has spoken into our souls. And we must build those walls with a fierce intention to keep everything that disagrees with God’s Word out, no matter how good it might make us feel for a moment.
The bricks with which you choose to build your walls may not just come from social media. They may come from friends who sympathize, but don’t hold any tools in their hands for the cultivation of your pearl. Your bricks may come from music, TV and movies, books, or even your own thoughts. Sometimes, believe it or not, your bricks can come from faith-filled messages delivering a good Word, intended for a different season than the one you’re in.
So we must guard our hearts carefully if we wish to avoid becoming prisoners of our own self-imposed borders. Sometimes, by allowing and agreeing with more than we should, we actually place limitations on the value of what is being produced in our lives.
I’m sure you don’t have to look far to find a woman whose heart, in her process, has turned bitter and become guarded by fear and distrust, because it’s been influenced by suspicion and prideful vindication. Maybe you’ve even been that woman yourself. I have been her.
Thankfully, my heart was set free, and I am no longer her. I never want to be her again. So today I have vowed to turn my eyes and ears away from everything that disagrees with what God has spoken into my soul for this season and for the cultivation of the pearl of this hour. What I agree with matters, and so I will focus my attention on that alone. I invite you to do the same, and so to step into greater agreement with the beauty that is meant to come from your own struggle.
Choose wisely today with me, and rejoice in the peace that comes from the absence of contradictions in your heart!
She Dances Over Graves 