Psalm 31:1-8

And Thou hast not given me over into the hand of the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a large place“. (verse 8)

Our local fellowship hosted a pair of counselors for a mini-conference they Called Healing Life’s Hurts. They were quite experienced and did a great job talking to many of us, for the first time, about our hearts – that space that was decimated by the fall; that space which for true believers was reclaimed when they were reborn. It is my sincere prayer that the inner workings of the heart will not always be an alien topic within the local church. Since our hearts have become His temple and as such, the dwelling place of God on the earth, it is essential that He has His way in this holy space.

                            “…..from the heart flow the springs of life”. (Pr 4:23)

Because of the way Christ moved in to the space of my heart when I was 23 I assumed, by the rearrangements He initiated there, that this was His space exclusively and that His primary mission was to reside there, as living Truth, and do and say whatever He wanted. It was, and still is, my understanding that my life would be a journey, with Him as my shepherd, that would result, if I would cooperate, in a heart that would some day resemble His. Discovering, painfully, early on that I could limit my cooperation, it was only natural for me to latch on to the prayer of Psalm 139:23-24; “Search me oh God and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way“.

Traditionally, from our pulpits, we present doctrines, biblical truths – and describe how they should effect our lives but the two presenters in our mini-conference were taking a different approach. They were just talking, not really preaching, about how life in a fallen world had shaped, or more accurately misshaped that space within us and fouled the spring from which life should flow. Their knowledge of scripture, and the testimonies of lives changed were reaching people. Perhaps their biggest credibility builder was their own stories of how God had operated in the messy space of their own hearts. They were speaking to us on our level as fellow sojourners.

I love the scriptures. I respect those who study and preach from the bible. I appreciate the scriptural knowledge they have imparted to me over the past four decades. But, in recent years I have realized that my heart has languished in this preacher/parishioner exchange. On he other hand it had been growing thirsty. Along the way, as I have sought to quench my thirst, I  have discovered that my heart has its own language. I hear that language when I listen to those with battle scars – saints who can talk about the skirmishes and the battles they have personally fought. My heart seems to say, “They have credibility. They have earned the authority to speak to my heart. If the voice seems theoretical or inexperienced I have noticed that I shy away.

If there is a language of the heart it is surely the first language of the Good Shepherd. Listen;

To him the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice, and a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:3-5)

I maintain a dialogue with believers from many different camps. Some have just walked away from the main camp convinced no one was listening back there. They may have been addressed as brother or sister but all too frequently, the pastor didn’t even know or remember their names. Could it be that a reason our churches are shrinking is that the sheep do not hear a language their hearts intuitively understand and are thirsting for?

I think an interesting book would be Exit Interviews That Never Happened Subtitled; The High Cost of Not Listening. It would have the heart level testimonies of common folks. They would just say with honesty, without the fear of guilt trip-reprisals, what’s on their heart about the organization they just left or the one they remain a part of because they don’t know what else to do. If there is anything I have learned as a business manager and a former elder, it is that; the best asset I have, next to people of course, is my ears. I have observed that the ears of some work and that the ears of others do not.

I would differentiate between “hearing”, which is the reception of sound waves on the inner machinery of our ears and “listening”, which I would define as the translation of those sound waves into a language grasped by the heart, where there are emotions, like sorrow and joy, and where stories, both good and bad, are valued as highly as data that can be processed logically and stored away.

Could it be the migration that has been documented by George Barna, as well as by others, away from the main camp into smaller camps, can be explained by sheep being attracted to places, usually much smaller ones, where they hope to find others speaking their native tongue – this language of the heart. And just maybe they would like to find a place (like the bar in Cheers) where their name is remembered?

                                      Thou hast set my feet in a large place“. (verse 8)

The “larger place” where the Lord has set my feet, as the Psalmist has spoken of, is the kingdom of God. My hearts is dramatically enlarged when I discover that this eternal kingdom overlaps my own heart and is in fact in my heart. I have discovered communities of people who are grappling with kingdom language. Even though their dialects are slightly different, I have cherished the opportunities I have had to hear their stories. For the record, I have observed that listening, is always apart of the Shepherd’s language. It is doubtful if we can love without listening. Along with “Open the eyes of our hearts Lord”, perhaps we should sing, “Open The ears of our souls Lord, open the ears of souls.”

Father, may you call Your Body in all its fragmented pieces back together. Help us to learn this dialect of the heart that we all can understand which we have in common. Teach us how “listening” promotes healing. Raise up true shepherds, fluid and eloquent in this language, who can serve as connecting tissues throughout the Church. Glory and honor and power to Your Name Lord forever more. Amen.

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