The Head vs The Heart
Are you inclined to trust your rationale mind (your head), while ignoring your desires and emotions (your heart)? When you want to make a life change, you just decide and then do it. You believe it just takes discipline and action. Right?
It’s not always so easy or straightforward. For example, you may try to improve a challenging relationship by putting a smile on your face and simply acting nicer. Despite your best effort, you may still find yourself struggling. You discover that your outward action – acting nicer – hasn’t changed your attitude about the person on the inside. The truth is your heart hasn’t changed. You are living from the head rather than choosing to live boldly from the heart.
Jesus flips our rationale approach upside down!
Jesus shows us throughout the New Testament that change is first about addressing the heart. Jesus wants us to encounter him at the heart level – in our inner being – and then let him change us from the inside out. He wants us to bring our desires to him and let him fulfill them. With desires fulfilled, our outward behavior changes as we live from the heart.
Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7)
Is this you?
If you answer “yes” to some of the following questions, you may be experiencing issues of the heart that are interfering with your life.
Are you experiencing repetitive patterns at home or work, such as relationship problems and confidence issues?
Do you find yourself reacting strongly to certain situations?
Are you experiencing personal obstacles in achieving your goals?
Are you having difficulties making decisions?
Have you been hurt and find yourself unable to move forward?
If you are experiencing these types of challenges, you may have tried to DISCIPLINE yourself to think or act differently. Was it successful? If not, you may have a DESIRE that you are are trying to fill through you behavior. You may not even know your true desire because it is being overshadowed by old emotional memories and deceptive beliefs. It could be for belonging, love, security, significance, comfort or many other desires. When you seek Jesus to fulfill these desires, your actions come into alignment with your heart and you can move forward with joy!
Jesus confirms this truth in Matthew 12:34, “ Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Tony Stoltzfus, the creator of this heart model, says it another way: “Your actions are the visible symptom that reveals the condition of your heart.”
Are you like me? Have you tried to inadvertently fill your desires the wrong way, only to find yourself troubled by the challenges listed above? You aren’t alone and change is possible, even in the midst of difficult circumstances!
Coaching the Heart
Are you facing significant change in your life? You may be navigating life’s storms and wondering what God is doing or where he is. He uses every circumstance, including the beautiful moments and our suffering, and every stage of our life to move us closer to our destiny or purpose.
Through an approach developed by Tony Stoltzfus of the Leadership Metaformation Institute, I will help you experience at the heart level that God is always for you, he is using every circumstance in your life for his purpose, and his plan is an ongoing process.
Sometimes you get stuck in your process and need the guidance of a transformational coach to help you unearth what God is doing in your heart. Desires fulfilled and a changed perspective can radically shift your life!