Imagine a day or time when you felt like things were really clicking, things just seemed to be going smoothly.  You felt at ease and comfortable.  You were relaxed and had maybe even let down your guard ~ you know, the guard you always kept up just a wee bit to protect yourself from the arrows that may come your way from this world, circumstances, other people.  The guard that sometimes is as sturdy as a fortress, but every so often you release some of the fortifications so that it is just a slight hedge, protecting you in the mildest of ways, just in case…

You’re going along, enjoying seeing the horizon that is normally blocked by the fortress, enjoying the freedom of movement that feels so much better without the constraints of the heavy gates, iron latches, and multiple pad locks that are usually in place as a means of protection ~ protection from being misunderstood, judged unfairly, accused, discouraged, and so on.  But for a short time the gates are open, the guard is loosened, the fortress is lowered.  You are feeling at ease, maybe even willing to be vulnerable, you are comfortable, comfortable in your own skin, so to speak.

Then it comes, seemingly out of nowhere.  That arrow of accusation, of misunderstanding who you are at your very core, criticism of your movements because of the freedom you felt for such a brief time, maybe even the feeling that so many things are piling on that you can’t even breathe.  Why did you think it was safe to let down the fortifications even for the briefest of moments?  Circumstances, disappointments, failures, relationships all have the potential to penetrate even our greatest efforts of protecting ourselves.

Do you have fortifications around your heart with guards posted at every corner? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I wonder why I ever loosen them.  Sometimes I wonder why I ever let myself feel comfortable, why I ever let my guard down.  When I’m doubting and wondering, I’m so thankful for the reminder that I can go to Jesus, one on one, on a very personal level, without need of an intermediary to send my message to Him, and without any guard posted around the corners of my heart and soul.  He is my guard.  He is my savior.

I have direct communication with Jesus, my creator, my savior, author and finisher of my faith, the One who holds the entire universe in place, the One who was offered as a sacrifice for my sins.  He knows me at my very core, the good and the bad.

He understands the pain, He’s interested in who He created me to become.  He understands my weaknesses and my struggles, He knows my gifts and my dreams.  He created me.  He lovingly convicts me and humbles me, reveals Himself to me, and sanctifies me. He heals my hurts that are caused by the arrows from around me, and He restores the hurts that I inflict on others with my own personal arrows.

I am His and He is mine.

No guards necessary, no fortress needed.

How is your heart feeling right now, sweet friend?  Are you hurting? or are you in a sweet place of calm? When the world seems to be crashing on all sides and things just don’t make sense please run to Jesus.  He is the only one who can make sense of all the crazy that goes on all around us and right up against us.  He is sovereign and He is watching.  He is in complete control and He is walking right alongside His children.

1 Peter 5:7  “Cast all your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you.”

Isaiah 26: 3-4  “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

Sweet friend, let your heart run to Jesus!  No guards necessary, no fortress needed!

Blessings ~