Building Heart Bridges
Anonymous
I wanted to share part of a devotional that I read recently because the words keep coming back to me. It was about making connections. The devotional pointed out that we don’t all have the same journey, but we all have the ability to be a “bridge” to reach others with the story of the good news of God’s kingdom. It went on to say, “We need to build a bridge so that Jesus can walk from our hearts to someone else’s heart.” That last sentence painted such a beautiful picture in my mind - me “building a bridge” to someone so God can “walk” into their heart and life.
Later that week, I had the opportunity to listen to several speakers via livestream. Some of their words that have been playing over my mind are:
Jada Edwards - “Go into the world and act like you’re ‘A Daughter of the King.’”
Matt Chandler - "Wake up! Nap time is over! We need to get to work! If we are breathing, we have a job to do.”
Christine Caine - “God has placed us right where we are for His purpose and for this moment in time. We are collaborators with the God of the Universe - created on purpose for God’s purpose.”
The very next day, Pastor Ron said something at a funeral that I had known and heard several times before but needed to hear again. He said, “God takes our little and makes it much - we just need to make ourselves available.”
After a long winter, I feel like God is saying to me, “Wake up! Nap time is over!" “I need you to start building bridges so I can walk into the hearts of those who are searching for a better life but are looking in the wrong places.”
Accountability has always been a scary word to me because I don’t like to fail. So, when I shared this last month with some fellow Hillsiders, it was definitely a boldness that is not me but the Holy Spirit working in me. My prayer is that I will continue to feel the Holy Spirit prompting me and revealing to me who I should build bridges to and then, not stopping there, but actually building those bridges.
I would like to challenge you to build your own “heart bridges” for Jesus to use in reaching others. Regardless of whatever else we have going on in life, God desires to use us to build bridges. Maybe you have built or are in the process of building bridges, or maybe, like me, you need a reminder and a nudge to start building bridges. I hope that sharing what God has laid on my heart will serve as an encouragement to you. Try to paint a picture in your mind of you building a bridge from your heart to someone else’s heart, giving Jesus a way to walk into their heart. Hopefully, having this picture in your mind will make it easier to sense when the Holy Spirit is nudging you to build a bridge. My prayer for you is that you will be excited and intentional about doing so. Remember, bridge building can be a slow process, and God is the one who changes hearts - we just have to make ourselves available so He can work out His plan through us.
Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing - 1 Thessalonians 5:11