Healing the Heart of the Artist

I was in my late twenties—a college graduate married to an incredible woman, working in a dynamic ministry as a worship leader with what seemed like an incredible life and yet, on the inside I was dying. Even though I had invited Jesus into my heart at an early age and did my best to follow Him throughout my teen and college years, I had some major issues that I never told anyone about.  Instead of dealing with these issues in a healthy way I did what a lot of people do and hid them out of fear. I developed unhealthy coping mechanisms that momentarily dulled the pain while I kept my life running somewhat normally—hoping nothing went wrong.

Thankfully, God brought some incredible people into my life who recognized what was going on and began to help me unpack what seemed like a lifetime of emotional and spiritual baggage from my heart. The heavy load of fear, shame, performance, and control began to slowly fall away as I began allowing the Holy Spirit to heal the broken places in my heart. This helped me create new patterns of thinking and living that would bring me into alignment with God’s perfect plan for my life and identity. 

My friend, you can love Jesus with all your heart but still be living life from a wounded blueprint. Instead of interpreting life through God’s Word,  you do so through your own woundedness, and that’s a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, that’s what I did for many years—wondering why God would never come and fix this mess of a life I seemed to be living. Then with the help of some close friends, I realized I didn’t have to carry all that around anymore. I didn’t have to hide my wounds. I didn’t have to fear not being perfect. All I had to do was just run to Him and allow Him to heal those broken places in my heart.

However, that’s not the end of the story! When Jesus comes and heals your heart He’s making room inside your heart for a new blueprint—one that’s based on His Kingdom, not your woundedness. It’s a new way of living, thinking, processing, and feeling but it’s worth it!

As you meditate on these scriptures today, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal places in your heart that are wounded and holding you back from all God has for you. Confess those to Him and then ask Jesus to reveal His truth about the situation. Let His Words restore your heart and re-establish your identity in Him.