tenderhearted

A significant number of my friends are struggling right now. Interestingly enough, many of their struggles are blaringly similar. In talking with them, I have become acutely aware of my emotions. We have talked a lot about how emotional females are and how it is so difficult to keep ourselves from just masking our feelings. It's difficult to know when to act on your emotions and when to suppress them.

We were created by God in His image, right? So...with that said, we were created with TENDER hearts! God gave us hearts that can be happy, sad, and broken, and He rejoices in that. We can honor God not only in our joy and happiness, but in our sadness too. He is glorified when we are true to the hearts that He gave us. I mean, come on, even Jesus cried! In suppressing every negative feeling we have, we are denying the tenderhearted and CHRIST-LIKE spirit that God has given us.

The difficult part seems to be discernment. How can we discern which feelings are from our selfish flesh and which are a result of Christ like hearts? Although I don't have the answer, I know that the answer CAN be found from God. I KNOW that if we are seeking Him and asking Him for wisdom and discernment, He will grant those things to us. His word promises it.

Something I have learned is that my heart is SO influenced by the spirit! Yes, my flesh weighs in all the time, but when I am seeking God and asking Him to give me Godly desires I should TRUST those feelings. Sometimes, sharing those feelings will sharpen someone you love. Sometimes sharing them is the first step to resolving a situation and in doing so, allowing God's glory to overflow. We are his vessels, and when we ignore our spirit, we are robbing ourselves of something that God is trying to do within us AND through us.

This world is an intimidating place. The world tells us that beauty=size 2 jeans with a 32C, that strength=putting on a happy face and masking your struggles at all costs, and that a calloused heart is the only way to go.

God tells us that beauty is an expression of our hearts. God tells us that strength is being true to our hearts and trusting in Him to provide all we need to make it through. God tells us that a tender heart is what He desires for us, and that only when we let go of ourselves can we experience the peace that we long for. God is the ONLY one who gives us The Truth.