Trust in him at all times, O people,
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:8
When we listen with an open heart to the outpouring of another person’s heart, something happens. A bond forms. A closeness grows. And out of this relationship healing begins to take place.
But sharing one’s heart requires trust in the other person. It requires trust that the other person will listen as accurately as possible, that the other person will genuinely care, that the other person will be respectful of our suffering. This trust grows over time as these qualities are experienced on a consistent basis.
God, the One whose name is Wonderful Counselor, invites our trust. God invites us to pour our hearts out. God offers to be our refuge–the place where we can find understanding, compassion and wisdom. For many of us, trusting God in this way may not be as easy as it might sound. We have all kinds of reasons to hesitate. We may feel confusion and shame about all that our hearts hold. We may not be able to imagine that our deepest feelings will be welcomed by God. We may not have experienced God as a Wonderful Counselor.
In order to respond to this invitation to pour out our hearts, we may need to start by taking small steps. We can begin by sharing some of what we are feeling with God. We can ask for the courage and hope to continue to trust more and share more with God. We do not do this to keep God informed. We do this to get the help we need from God. We do this so we can become whole.
As our trust in God’s love, goodness and personal availability to us increases, our freedom to pour out our hearts to God will deepen. We will find ourselves freer and freer to share our sorrows, our joys, our questions, our fears, our longings, our doubt, our outrage and our resentments with the One who made us and loves us.
As we do this day after day, something happens to us and to our relationship with God. A bond forms. A closeness grows. And from this deepening relationship healing begins to take place in our hearts, minds and bodies. We experience comfort. We receive wisdom. We are corrected and restored. We are guided. And most of all, we are loved.
God is our true Counselor. God is the One who heals us and sets us free. May we respond to this invitation to trust God and to pour our hearts out to God. May we experience God more and more as our refuge and our safe place.
You ask me to trust you.
You invite me to pour my heart out.
I am amazed that you
love me this intimately.
I am amazed that you
ask me to share everything with you.
All the fear and joy and longing,
all the anger and confusion.
Everything.
Thank you for inviting me
to know you as my refuge.
Teach me to trust you more and more.
Teach me to pour my heart out to you
more and more,
so that our intimacy will deepen
and I will find wholeness.
Prayer suggestion:
Sit quietly. Breathe easily and deeply.
Ask God to free you to pour your heart out in prayer.
Talk to God about all that is on your mind and heart today.
This reminder is so helpful! Thank you!