Walls

Sometimes we build walls around our heart to keep from being hurt anymore. I did. I think the walls I built must have been as high and thick as the walls of Jericho. (If you want to read about that, go here: https://www.israel-a-history-of.com/walls-of-jericho.html). According to this article the walls formed a fortification 32 to 41 feet high. To put this into perspective, envision a 4-story tall building. Such was the height of the walls of Jericho. On the other side of the double wall, the embankment continued to climb upwards. The third tier was at the very top of the embankment, where yet another mud-brick wall stood. At their base, the walls of Jericho stood 46 feet (14m) above ground level outside the retaining wall. To the Israelites below, Jericho seemed impenetrable.

When we have been hurt in this life, and have experienced hurt upon hurt, we tend to believe that building a wall around our heart to protect ourselves is a wonderful thing to do. The more we have been hurt, the higher and thicker our walls become. For years, I held on tight to these walls. An abusive childhood started the process and by the time I was a few years into my marriage, my walls were as strong as the walls of Jericho seemed to be.

It seemed not even God could penetrate the walls I had up. It took many years for him to be able to get me to a place where He could start chipping away at my hardened heart. I wish I could say that as soon as He held out His hands to me, I eagerly jumped into His arms. Wrong. Not a chance! Now, as I look back on my life, I regret wasting so many years. I could have been a witness for Him years ago.

I’ve stated on this website that my story used to be about the abuse in my life, but thankfully it is now about what Jesus has done in me and to me. It has taken many, many years to get to this point. If there is anything I could say to you that could change your life, it would be that you allow Jesus to take down your walls. Allow Him to work in you and change you. It hurts. I won’t lie to you. He will bring about a complete makeover if you will let Him.

You may feel like you don’t even know who you are anymore. Everything you used to be, is no longer who you are becoming. When Jesus started working in me, it felt like He had pulled the rug out from under me. I was no longer standing upright but felt like I was on a roller coaster. I didn’t understand what was happening and I fought with everything in me. That isn’t a good idea. He wins. He is stronger and smarter and wiser and know what is best for each one of us. He knows you better than you think you know yourself. He sees you through a different lens than we see ourselves. He sees the truth about us. We cannot deceive him like we try to deceive ourselves and others.

Letting Him take down the walls we’ve built up makes us vulnerable, and we don’t like that. The definition of vulnerable is to be susceptible, weak, defenseless, helpless. At that we tend to grab our walls and run for the hills. The difference is we are becoming vulnerable to a God who loves us. He robed Himself in filthy flesh and died a horrible death for us, to pay for our sins. Not His. He was sinless.

That should make the difference for us. He is a Protector, Defender, Deliverer. I’m not saying, that makes us always want to do everything He asks us to do, but we are opening ourselves up to our Creator and Maker, someone who will defend us. I finally allowed Him to take down my walls and to chip away at my hardened heart. That is why He gave me the name of this ministry. It isn’t just Ezekiel ministries. It is Ezekiel Heart of Flesh Ministries. In Ezekiel 36:25-27, He promised to take away our filthiness and our heart of stone. And He didn’t stop there. He promised us a heart of flesh, to be able to trust again. He promised us a new start in life, one where we follow Him and can find out who He intended us to be. A new creature in Christ, one without spot, blemish and wrinkle. That is what it takes for us to be able to spend eternity with Him. After all, it is a much better alternative than spending eternity with the devil who has deceived us and lied to us. Make Jesus your reason for living.