Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s a spectacular new day in Virginia, and my life overflows with blessings. I’m alive and I’m well. I have my health and a sound mind. All is well with my family, and I have the best view on the planet. Despite all the Blessings, my Heart was downcast this morning, so I rolled up my Spiritual sleeves and got to work. It’s not possible to have a downcast Heart without first having a “downcast mind”, so to turn things around in my Heart, I needed to get control of my mind. Like the rudder on a big ship, the mind can turn us in any direction whatsoever (with a little help from the Enemy), BUT the good news is that we’re not powerless when it comes to the mind and the Heart. It’s only when we allow the mind to head in directions it shouldn’t go in that we find ourselves with a downcast Heart badly in need of Restoration. There’s good Reason the Bible tells us to “take captive every thought,” so to get my downcast Heart back where it belongs, I had to evacuate some things from my mind that have absolutely no business being there – And sure enough, once I got control of my thoughts, my Heart followed, and NOW my Heart overflows with Joy and Gratitude, and I’m ready to take on this new day like the Warrior I was born to be. I’m strong. I’m ready. I’m filled with Hope. Isn’t that the way you deal with your heavy Heart, too?

It’s so strange how we perceive people of Faith and how quickly we are inclined to criticise when we see a glimmer of their human frailty, like mine this morning. A few tears or a downcast Heart, and we’re ready to pass judgment and take them to the Spiritual woodshed. But everybody on the planet has had to struggle with feelings of discouragement at some point or another, and it doesn’t make one less of a Christian to confess it. David, “a man after God’s own heart,” was overwhelmed and downcast more often than I can count. He cried out to God with everything within him as He shared His heart in real ways…human ways…But he didn’t stay there long, and you and I don’t have to stay there long either. There once was a man named Job, and God referred to him as the “most righteous man” on earth at the time. When Job went through “hell on earth,” his shortcomings were made clear straight from the mouth of a Mighty God. God told Job to “brace yourself like a man” right before he highlighted where Job had gone wrong. Poor Job was so overcome with grief and shame that he cursed the day he was ever born! There are countless other people of Faith we read about in the Bible who were far from perfect, too. But the people who Knew where to turn for help with their downcast Heart were restored each and every time…and so am I.

When we cry out to God with a downcast Heart, He has compassion on us, and when we turn to Him for Heart Therapy, He delivers it every time. The world around us might expect to see “perfection” because we are people of Faith, but God knows better, and He’s there to help us through all of our trials IF we just reach out to Him and confess our weakness before His Throne. It’s a good thing that He’s our judge, and not all of those people around us who look for “Stepford Christians” and who are always so ready to pounce and to judge us over our weaknesses, especially other people of Faith. But being Christian doesn’t mean that all of our troubles miraculously disappear…it means that we just know where to go for our Help and our Hope. Being Christian doesn’t mean that we’re never weak….it means that we know where to go for our Strength. Being Christian doesn’t mean that we don’t stumble and fall…it means that we know where to go to get picked back up again….the source of our Straight Path. Humility isn’t a sign of weakness…it’s a sign of Strength, and honesty always leads to stronger relationships…especially when it comes to the Living God.

I may have begun this day with a downcast Heart, but it’s an entirely different story now after I confessed it to my God, I took captive every thought, and I turned to the Living God for some much-needed Heart Therapy. Now I’m Strong. I’m Ready. I’m Teachable. I’m Unstoppable. I’m Unbreakable. I Know where to find Truth, and I know the tactics of the Deceiver and his strategy to defeat me failed once again.

What about you?