Wednesday the First Week of Lent developing the right heart attitude.
To cultivate the right heart attitude, it is helpful to set intentions and fasting that align with benchmarks set out in scriptures. Just as God hardwires us with a strong vertical, he also provides a compass to provide our ‘true North’. To be effective in life and in our relationships there are self-evident natural laws that do not change. This compass of our true North is a choice to activate, we all know what is right and what is wrong – the wrong is sometimes the most comfortable (familiar) our reactive (addictive) state causing us to stray from what is right. When we scatter away from our true North we are struct by the waves on the horizontal. The horizontal reactions (the things we say or do) are the weaknesses that get triggered within us and tug us away from our wise mind – our true North – our best versions of ourselves. We are all sinners and we all have weaknesses that get tweaked from time to time. Having good tools in our toolkit can help us realign ourselves to our true North.
True North alignment can be found in many scriptures. I have many examples within my book ‘Walking the Narrow Path’. Finding the scripture that speaks to your heart and circumstance is so valuable. A great one that I love to use for my Meditation Monday yoga class is 1 Peter 3:8 which provides wonderful words that work well for I am statements:
I am unity of Spirit;
I am sympathy;
I am love for one another;
I am a tender heart;
I am a humble mind.
And if we are proactive in wanting to accomplish our intentions these are great benchmarks to humbly assess ourselves at the end of each day. Remembering that our God is a gracious God and meets us in our mess. He meets us in our contemporary evils – the things that turn us away from our own humility. Our personal crosses to bear/our personal speed bumps we meet. We do not need to have our S#*+ cleaned up before we can enter into silence and solitude with Him. He takes us just as we are ❤ And I can assure you the presence of the Lord is so peaceful when you are able to enter that solitude. As scripture tells us where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom! (2 Corinthians 3:17)
Having this time of solitude and silence with the Lord can build in a restful and renewing daily routine. Having this daily routine helps to stay on target with the intentions and fasting that you might be focusing on during Lent (or other times during your faith journey). Noticing what entices us to turn away from our inherent goodness is a bold step forward. Awareness builds resilence. Resilence, strengthens the vertical!
And whether you are doing more of something or doing less of something during Lent, know that God is proud of you in the midst of just doing something, taking that first step is one step closer to strengthening your vertical.
Building the right heart attitude posture allows us to be more effective in all we say, all we do and how we connect with God and others. The right heart attitude strengthens our connection to the Spirit. When we are connected to the spirit we can have a tender heart, a humble mind and love other well. Scripture tells us that love covers at multitude of sin (1 Peter 4:8). When we are loving others well, we are not only strengthening our vertical we are helping others see Christ in us and working to strengthen their vertical too!
May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
Anita Stettner 