Last week, I purposefully left room for you to look at your hidden heart from a distance. We talked in somewhat general terms about the parts of our character that we tend to push down out of sight, as well as our overall approach to dealing with anything that might surface from time to time. I wanted to bring us to a broad conclusion: “Yeah, there’s some stuff I try to keep hidden.” And we wanted to take a sweeping look at the kinds of things we may have done to deal with this “stuff,” along with our feelings about sharing it with God. This week, we take an important step forward: we begin to move from general awareness to concrete acknowledgement and ownership.
You ready?
Let’s press in. Go ahead and name the parts of your heart that you have concealed and closed off to God and maybe to yourself. If the doors to these “rooms” had signs on them, what would the signs say? In a moment, I’ll list some general areas of our character that might contain these “rooms.” You may want to step through the list and simply ask the Lord and ask yourself, “Anything here?” But, first, a few things to keep in mind as you explore beneath the surface of your heart:
- Don’t look too hard yet—it is unhelpful to attempt a thorough examination at this time. Acknowledge and name only the rooms that are clearest to you right now. Maybe own just a couple of chambers. Be sure to include any obvious besetting sin—actions that you try to keep hidden even though you’ve been well aware of them for years. For example, a lot of men struggle with outbursts of anger and pornography.
- Write down whatever the signs say. If the door to one of these rooms reads, “Anger” or “Rage” or “Insecure/Controlling,” try to accept your discovery and document it.
- Be courageous. We conceal things because we don’t want them to be true about us. Acceptance comes, then, with uncomfortable implications. And who wants to be uncomfortable? However, significant character growth is almost always accompanied by some form and level of distress.
Okay, time to jump. Here is a list of some general areas of our hearts that may contain hidden rooms. The list is not exhaustive, of course, but it may prove helpful:
- Sin
- Wounds
- Immaturity
- Weakness
- Brokenness
- Failure
- Guilt
- Shame
- Anger
- Pain
- Sadness
- Insecurity/Control
Once you record the door signs that are pretty easy to see, I encourage you to walk off from this post for a couple of days. Let your admission land and settle. No need to run from it anymore, and no reason to rush toward some kind of resolution. Just spend time with God in reality. He loves you!
Next week, we will take a closer look at our past approach to dealing with these rooms we documented. Have we done more than lock the door and turn away? But, for now, let’s slowly and patiently move through the prayer project for the week.
Prayer Project
Please take some time to sit in a quiet place where you won’t be distracted for at least 30 minutes. Then, ask God and ask yourself the questions below. If you can, write down your answers in a notebook that you might keep for this journey we’re taking together. No right answers here—just be as honest as you can.
- God, what was it like for me to write down the words on those door signs? How did I feel?
- Go ahead and pick one of the rooms you documented and ask the Lord, “What implications did I struggle with when I owned this area of my heart? How would I complete the sentence, ‘If this is true about me, then it means ____________.’”
- God, even though I drew this conclusion in the “If/Then” statement, what is the objective implication of owning this part of my heart? What does the presence of this room really mean?
- Take some time to talk with God about His disposition toward you and toward this part of your heart. Remember, you belong to Him, and He accepts the whole truth about you—even the parts He intends to change. He loves you.
- Thank God as best you can for His presence with you and His love, safety, companionship, leadership, and hope.