Are your heart and mind in agreement?

“God is with you!” How often have I heard or read this, but for me for a long time it was only in my head. In my heart, however, I had the conviction that I was alone, because I had had such experiences with people. And that meant for me: Because I am alone, I don’t feel secure and am therefore afraid.

How many of these beliefs are in our hearts? And how often are we irritated because the head knows something and the heart feels something different? How often do I say, “In theory I understand this, but deep down I don’t believe it…!” If we understand something with our mind, it is far from being in the heart. It is also said that the greatest distance is between the head and the heart! I would love to believe that I am not alone! How often I would like to have the truths, which I know in the head, also in the heart – but it just does not slide down!

We have the feeling that our mind is our control center. But our faith and our actions come from our heart, not from our mind! A lot of troublesome baggage has accumulated in our heart through childhood and experiences in the course of our life. This baggage makes itself noticeable, visible and perceptible in our feelings and actions. The mind may organize and process information, but the heart is decisive for our actions. Especially when fear and anxiety grip us!

The heart (it is also called the subconscious) gives the commands, it is the filter that determines our actions. Stored in the heart are experiences and events related to strong emotions. As a result, in the course of our lives, beliefs, experiences, ways of thinking and attitudes have been formed. Much too much of this is negative and obstructive. It is not accessible with the mind and cannot be changed with logic or arguments.

Especially all the negative thoughts make themselves felt. They hinder a smooth coexistence with ourselves, with God and with others. They color our lenses, prevent clear communication, hinder joy and freedom, they create fears and worries. We no longer see situations unbiased, but put our fears as a filter over them. And so we evaluate situations negatively from the beginning, although they often aren’t. And thus our past also influences our present and future.

To change a belief in the heart requires strong emotions or countless repetitions. But there is super good news: the good news that Jesus died and rose for us and then gave us the Holy Spirit as our comforter and companion. This results in our being able to communicate directly with him. If we bring our fears to him, he will communicate his truth to us and thus he pierces our heart. When his living word, his truth, hits you, then rigid, encrusted, negative beliefs change immediately and make room for this truth. Then it is up to you to hold on to it and to practice new patterns of behavior.

“Isn’t my word like fire or like a hammer that shatters a rock?” asks the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:29

God’s word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet.
Hebrews 4:12

Jesus wants us to come to him with all our fears and worries. We may bring him old experiences which still have us in their grip and ask him to give us his truth for them. As I mentioned in the beginning I felt that I was alone. But because one day I clearly sensed God telling me that he is with me, I can now believe it in my heart. And that changed me!

His word sets us free! Only God’s living word can do that! It does not stay in the mind, but penetrates into the depth of our heart.

Jesus is the good news and if we come to him with all our fears and problems, his truth will spread more and more in our heart, the control center, and thus determine our actions and our whole life. Our whole being – mind and heart – will come closer and closer to the truths of the Bible. When our mind and heart are in agreement, we ourselves and the people around us will experience this as peace and joy.