Do you have ears that can hear my heart?

Have you ever wondered this?  Have you ever longed for this?  Have you ever desired that there would be someone in your life who you could open up to, someone who you could let know who you really are, someone you could share even just a little view of your heart with?

Aren’t these the kind of people that we yearn to have in our lives?  People who can read between the lines and hear between the words – the one who just really seem to know us and to get us.

I know that I sure do.  I am so richly blessed to have a few people like this in my life.

People who have ears to hear the hearts of others don’t always seem readily available.  In fact they can be kind of hard to find.  The search for them can be quite maddening really.  Perhaps you have experienced something like I have.  I have sat and had conversation with someone, taking the risk to open up my heart just a little bit, sharing a message of who I really am, so eager and hopeful that they will hear me, that real me down inside who isn’t always willing to be front and center.

Then the message is either not heard or interpreted through what seems to be some sort of delusional fog.  The person responds with advice or an attempt to speak a word into my life or a review of what they think they heard.  The shock of what they just said makes me feel like my jaw has physically hit the floor.  The first thought across my mind is, “what?!!!”, with quick follow-up thoughts of “where did you get that?”, “were you even listening to me?”, and “are you kidding me?”

It isn’t but a moment’s notice after my brain is thinking these thoughts, that my emotions put on a full lock down around my heart.  Those emotions attempt to do their job to protect that precious heart of mine and in doing so they are slamming doors, bolting locks and calling for increased security.  There’s still a sad moment when I realize the person next to me doesn’t really get who I am.

Honestly, if this kind of thing happens multiple times, it can be really frustrating.  When I am discouraged, I start feeling like giving up on the whole “let someone see your heart” thing.  I can even tell myself it is better to not let anyone know than to let them run with incorrect assumptions about who I am.

Now is the really hard truth, my personal confession if you will, I have been on both sides of this.  I am completely guilty of not hearing when someone is offering their heart to me.  I am guilty of making assumptions.  I am guilty of viewing others through the lenses of my personally tinted paradigm.  I know the depths of the longing for a friend who can hear the words of the heart, and yet I have turned away, ignored or even used words to declare that I do not care.  Oh, how yucky of a person I can be, even though I so badly do not want to be one.

The truth is that I am sinner.  I will never be able to hear everyone’s heart.  I live in a broken world.  Everyone is not going to be able to hear the words of my heart.  Even those who can hear my heart will only be able to listen to such a small portion of the symphony that is played.  Some may get to hear an entire movement, but others may only hear a few bars or notes.  The really hard part is that I do not have any control over who hears, when they hear or what they hear.

Do you know that there is one who can hear Our hearts?  One who is readily available and eager to listen at any time?  One who has perfectly tuned ears to hear the words that we speak, the fullness of our hearts, every moment of every day?

“^13-15 My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.”  1 John 5:14-15 (Message)

The Lord listens.  He has ears the hear the heart. 

We can be sure that the Lord is listening.  We can be confident that He is listening.

What encouragement I receive and I hope you receive as well from the scripture in 1 John 5:14-15.  I want to come bold and come freely.  I want to pour forth the entire contents of my heart and be truly known.  There is such joy in this.

Even though we may know these things with the logic of our heads, our emotions may still doubt and question in confrontational manner.  Emotions may say, can we really trust God with our whole hearts?  Can we really share EVERYTHING?  Wouldn’t it make God cringe to know that while I have beautiful, elegant rooms in my heart, I also have deep, damp, dark corners behind locked doors and concrete walls?  Won’t He, too, turn away or misunderstand?  Even worse, won’t I just be giving God the proof He needs to judge me?  What will be sentence be?

Those emotions and doubts can really bring us to a place of inner conflict, a repeating loop that can erode our confidence, leaving us exhausted and weary.  This is when we need to turn to scriptures for hope, for healing and for restoration.  We need to be remind of how much God loves us.

“⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”  Ephesians 1:4-6 (NIV)

Take Away Truths

• We are chosen by God and were chosen before the creation of the world
• He chooses to see us through eyes of love and compassion
• Paid great expense and suffering through Jesus so that we could be adopted into His family
• Not because God had to, but freely because He wanted to – “His pleasure and will”

That is such an awesome gift.  It is a gift that I hope we all receive today, freely and willingly.  I hope we just rip the wrapping right off of this present in the present moment and delight in it.

Now in my humanness I can have trouble receiving gifts of great cost and value.  My emotions can shout out that I do not deserve it or worse I start to worry about how I can repay such a gift.  What will God ask me to do?

“³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”” Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)

God will ask me to give my heart in its entirety to Him; to give Him a full access tour to every room in my heart.  He wants us to say what is called out in 1 Chronicles 29:17 (Message) “I know, dear God, that you care nothing for the surface—you want us, our true selves—and so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily.”

Give God our hearts.  Soak scripture into our minds.  Spend time with God.  Listen to His heart.  Let those emotions fall in love with the Lord.  Then do our best to use our ears to hear the hearts of others.  This is what God asks of us.

Beloved and Treasured Lord, 

Wow!  What a gift.  What a present that we can savor each moment.  Thank You, Lord, so much for listening to us – not just to our words or thoughts – but for being acutely tuned into what our hearts are saying.  Lord, help us to be bold, free and confident in coming to You and sharing with You.  May we know to our deepest emotions that You love us so that we can fully walk in the gift of that boldness and freedom. 

Lord, I lift up myself and all of my readers.  Please bless us with people in our lives that can hear our hearts.  Help us to recognize what a gift it is to have even just one person who can make us feel understood.  Help us also to know that when people do not comprehend who we are that it is alright, You always know and appreciate us.  Help us keep pressing on and moving forward with others, not allowing the experiences with a few, delude the truth of many others. 

Please bless us with ears that can hear the heart, even in small ways.  Help us to recognize that as a blessing and a responsibility for us to show love to them.  May we move forward faithful in Your will and Your ways.  

Thank You for loving and for listening, in Jesus’ name, Amen.