As Christian women we know so many things about God’s love. We hear it from the pulpit, we read it in the Bible, we see it lived out right before our very eyes. But at the same time, we can go for years or even decades and not realize that we don’t fully understand that love. It can be so hard to get knowledge from our heads where we know the facts to our hearts where it becomes real in our lives.

Moving from head knowledge to heart knowledge seems particularly difficult in the area of identity. I believe this is because the enemy knows that understanding our true identity is the very most important part of being a woman who is fully able to move forward into all that God has planned for her. Without that understanding we are held back spiritually because lack of true identity feeds the negative thought processes that Satan can magnify in our minds in order to defeat us.

Knowing and fully understanding our worth and value in God’s eyes makes all the difference in the world. So how can we begin to move that knowledge in the right direction?

First of all, we must remember that taking a concept from the mind to the heart will be a different journey for each of us. There is no formula or one set of circumstances that will be common to all. We are individual and uniquely created which means a unique set of circumstances for each one of us.

But with that said, there are three important keys that we can all depend on in the journey from the mind to the heart and they are found in this passage from Proverbs.

My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:1-5 (NKJV)

If you think about it, knowledge passes by the eyes, the ears, and the mouth on the way from the head to the heart. This passage above alludes to that pathway.

The first thing we pass by on the way from the head to the heart is the eyes. Our eyes are complex organs, second only to the brain. 80% of what we remember and learn comes in through the eyes. Our eyes are made for seeing and understanding, for receiving and taking in all things around us.

My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you…..Proverbs 2:1 (NKJV)

So the first step to the heart starts with the knowledge we take into our minds as we receive God’s word through reading it with our own eyes.  His word comes in and begins to fill our minds with truth. He tells us to take it and treasure it. What a gift we have been given to be able to receive God’s word, take it in and begin to understand it in a deeper way.

Spiritually speaking, God gives us another command that involves our eyes. He tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)

….while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV)

If we hold on to the truths that we receive through our eyes as we read His Word and make the daily decision to look to Jesus, we are taking a first step to finding a pathway to the heart.

The next step on that journey from head to heart involves our ears. Our ears are not only necessary for hearing, they help us keep our balance. The same is true in our spiritual lives. In order to keep our balance, we must begin to listen.

So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding. Proverbs 2:2

His word has a message for us. It is living and active and completely able to lead and guide us in the right direction, both spiritually in our thoughts and attitudes and physically in real life as we begin to act on what He is teaching us. But we must begin to do the work and set aside the time it takes to listen, and we do that during our prayer and quiet times with God.

Friends, having a quiet time is hard work and takes obedience. The enemy will attack the hardest in this area because he knows the power that we have access to there. We need to remember to keep pushing through when discouragement hits by keeping our minds full of God’s truths through the reading of His Word and by keeping our eyes focused on Jesus. In this way we can overcome and keep moving forward.

In being determined to set aside time and find quiet places in our lives where we can listen to God, we are taking the second step in moving knowledge from our heads into our hearts.

It’s inside our quiet time that we meet up with the third step of moving knowledge from the head to the heart as it passes by the mouth. God tells us in the next portion of this passage that words are very important, particularly the asking.

Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding… Proverbs 2:3

God tells us here not only to ask, but to cry out, to lift up our voices for understanding. There is so much to unpack inside this verse! Do you hear Him telling you it is OK to bring Him your deepest hurts, your long unanswered questions, your anger even? I think this verse gives us permission to do that.

We often bring God our best when all along He’s waiting for us to give Him the things we are ashamed of. He longs for it because He longs for us to be complete and perfected in Him. He can’t help us with that if we are not open before him with the rawest of who we are – our struggles, our failures, our regrets, all the things we think we should not be.

God longs for us to be complete and perfected in Him, but it means coming before Him open and raw, giving Him our all our struggles, failures, and regrets. Share on X

Becoming all we were meant to be in Christ means walking through the hard stuff and asking Him for wisdom and discernment. Jesus takes us straight to the Father who longs hold us until He can fill us up with the strength we need to go out and move forward again. This all happens through a relationship with Jesus that comes to life in our prayer times. But it won’t be the realest of real unless we let go and become open before Him so He can begin healing and working.

So the third step happens during our prayer time when we cry out to God for discernment, wisdom and healing. It takes this step of humility for knowledge to take that final approach to the heart. It’s this last step that can finally bring us into a place of peace where we begin to truly feel at peace with who we are and Whose we are.

Opening up our hearts before Him takes humility and submission. These two qualities are difficult to reach, but they are the beginning of being redefined and healed. And the result of that is freedom.

It’s by walking through these three steps of receiving God’s word, listening to what he has to say, and asking for wisdom and discernment that we can begin to move His truths from head knowledge to heart knowledge. And when the knowledge of our identity moves down into the heart we can become truly who we were meant to be because we find an identity outside of ourselves.

It’s important to note that God gives us a promise if we will do these three things.

If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.  Proverbs 2:4-5

So let’s use our eyes to receive God’s word, our ears to listen to Him, and our mouths to become real before Him and let’s cry out for wisdom and discernment. Let’s seek Him like a hidden treasure. It’s His promise that if we do these things we will understand and find the knowledge of God.

Before you go today, I have a couple of resources for you. If you click HERE you will be able to download a free printable with encouragement to go along with our theme of identity.  This printable sheet would be a great addition to any prayer or quiet time notebook. If you are looking for an idea for a prayer notebook you can click HERE for more information about a free resource we have for you. Next week I will have some scripture cards for you!

Remember, filling your mind with His truth will not leave enough room for Satans’ lies. Keep seeing, hearing, and asking and the Lord will give you understanding. He is so good!

Filling your mind with God’s truth will not leave enough room for Satan’s lies! Share on X

Blessings to you!

Leslie

Focus Verses
These are the verses we’ve taken a look at above. If you click on the verses below you will be taken to Bible Gateway. There are free resources available there for you to study these verses in more depth. I highly encourage you to go there!
        Proverbs 2:1-5 (NKJV)
        Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)
        2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV)

Let’s Talk

Do you have any strategies that have helped you get knowledge from your head to your heart where it becomes real in your life?
We’ve been talking about identity. How has finding your true identity changed you? When you were struggling with identity, in what ways do you feel like that holds you back spiritually? And remember, it’s a life long journey we walk in always getting to know God’s love in a deeper way, so there’s not necessarily a specific point we ever arrive at, but we can find peace in knowing Whose we are and understanding His love in a more real way. I’d love to hear your comments below!

Let’s Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, We come before You from so many different places and we ask You to help us understand how deep and unending your love really is. Take this knowledge from our minds deep down into our hearts where it will become real in our lives. We ask you to help us understand the true source of our identity is You and when we walk redefined in this way we can be so very confident in who we are. We ask for your protection from the lies of the enemy and we ask You to give us discernment for when we are being attacked so that we will be able to stand up brave and strong. Fill our minds with Your truth. We ask all this in Jesus name. Amen.

This post is linked in other encouraging places. Click HERE to find out where!

The post From Head to Heart a Journey Through Finding Identity first appeared at journeytoimperfect.com.