To the Wholehearted

Back in February, I had class on the whole Old Testament. It was intense, and beautiful. I wrote this post then, and still, this subject is so current. It needs a revisit.

King David was wholehearted.

He loved big, and he messed up royally.

At the end of the day, though, he was remembered as wholehearted, one after God’s own heart. And I believe there are people today who seek the Lord and obey Him wholeheartedly. The few, the brave, who voluntarily march in with slings and stones and slay giants in their everyday lives. Those who sometimes mess everything up and suffer the consequences, choosing to trust God.

 

I know you’re still out there, I’ve met you.

This is for you.

Here’s to you, wholehearted. 

 

You are not afraid to feel. You go big or you go home. When you hear the voice of God, you believe it’s Him, and you obey Him. Sometimes you hesitate. Sometimes you have fear. But ultimately, you know God gets His way. He sends people to you, and you know what you need to do. This is the big part: you do it. You do it with your whole heart. You jump in with both feet, without the guarantee of a safe landing.

Unfortunately (and actually for your good) you don’t always land well. Things don’t always work out the way you expected. Sometimes it’s really nasty, really painful.

Somehow, in all the pain, you get a flashback of yourself jumping in with both feet. You remember the faith of the leap, and along with that memory comes a tiny, soft whisper “it was worth it.”  There are no regrets for the wholehearted.

You can choose to look back and think of yourself as foolish, as naïve. In the end, however, when you really examine your heart, you realize you’re neither foolish nor naïve.

What you did, you did because you were told.
You’re brave.
You’re obedient.

You get to hear your Papa in heaven tell you how proud of you He is. Other people miss out on that. They get to hold on to their pride, their fears, their comforts, and they never experience broken, on-your-face, busted-up-in-the-pit intimacy with Papa. They don’t get to hear His soothing voice because they’re not even listening.

And oh, sometimes you land well. Impossibly well. Remember the victory? The favor? The bliss? Don’t forget that the glory isn’t yours.

And when you make mistakes… oh man. You royally mess up. You get hasty, impatient, rash. You feel too much, too fast. You struggle with anger and shame.

You want your way. You’ll fight tooth and nail to get what you want, at whatever cost. You are so stubborn, holding on to things for the sake of holding on, because letting go is so against your nature. Those conscious decisions to do things ‘your way’ have consequences. They hurt. It’s a different kind of pain. You end up in the familiar pit. Humble. And again, the Lord meets you and soothes you with grace, and teaches you it’s okay to let go. Fresh start.

Do not ever let pain deter you from courage. Do not let the past corrupt you. Do not let Satan lie to you. You take big risks for God. People won’t always back you up, but God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable. Deep down you know that, which is why you are the way you are. You know grace, and you embrace it.

You know you are deeply loved first, so you love deeply.

In the end of the day, you experience passion.

You are willing to suffer for a cause.

You invest your whole self.

You risk looking foolish, looking vulnerable.

You offer your heart, your affection.

You experience brokenness, failure, and healing.

It’s the most beautiful thing, you know, the courage to love.

 

Everybody dies, but not everybody lives, huh?

Wholehearted one,
you live.