When we first understand all the factors involved in true change (repentance and transformation) at first it seems impossible. The heart, which is the place all transformation occurs, resists change. It is always working to preserve our sense of self and protect the identity we have come to accept; therefore, homeostasis is the number one reason people do not change.
The beliefs of the heart which have accumulated over a lifetime have forged a sense of self that concretely defines our “normal.” Once our sense of normal is established the boundaries are firmly planted and difficult to move. At first this seems like an incredible weakness, a possible flaw in God’s creation; but actually it’s just the opposite.
When you consider that the heart is designed to keep us from being controlled by outside influences we realize that resistance to input apart from evaluation and intentional choice is part of what the heart is supposed to do. In other words, we are designed so that circumstances and corrupted logic received from the outside cannot easily change our boundaries or our sense of self. When your heart is fixed and stable this works for instead of against you. This protects a healthy heart from the corruption in the world.
Ps. 112:1-6 is the picture of a man whose heart is established in God’s love and really does trust and delight in His Word. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he will never be shaken. The only word that adequately fits this person is IMMOVABLE!
Once your heart is steadfast in the realities of God the only way you can be moved, destroyed, or conquered is to change your beliefs. This is the real secret behind those who always get up, who always endure, and who always overcome. They may not really even understand it. They may attribute it to their faith, but the reality is it’s their heart!
This is the ultimate secret to living a life that keeps getting better and better and better. Years ago I preached a series called The Boiling Point. The principle of our boiling point is to do what we do until we cross an invisible barrier that suddenly shifts the balance in our favor. Some people call this the tipping point! When we cross the tipping point in our efforts it causes a shift, but that shift isn’t holistic. It only affects the area where we have focused our efforts, not our life.
When we cross the tipping point in our heart everything changes. When success happens on the inside we not only succeed but we have the capacity to enjoy it, feel safe in our success, and even rest and relax. Success that is only circumstantial brings anxiety and fear of possible loss. That’s why God’s wisdom says, the prosperity of fools is their destruction. But with a change in heart everything changes.
This brings us to the ultimate factor for producing heart transformation: We have to want it, choose it, and apply it. This is the labor that brings us into rest. In Mark 4:24-25 Jesus told us how to get the Word into our heart so it would bear fruit. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you — and more [besides] will be given to you who hear. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. (AMP)
The Bible makes it clear that ministry to our heart belongs to us and us alone. God speaks to our spirit and people touch our soul, but only we can take input from either of these sources and write it on our heart. Then, and only then, does it bring about the automatic responses like those mentioned in Prov. 6:22 When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you.
One of the key ingredients to transformation (change that occurs from the heart) is passion. Passion makes things happen fast. The degree of passion determines the speed of transformation. In the parable of The Pearl of Great Price we see one of the laws of the Kingdom. Matt 13:46 says …when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. This man wanted the pearl more than he wanted anything else.
When you want to step into a new way of living more than you want anything you think you’ll have to give up, the transformation is easy. This initial passion usually occurs in a moment of inspiration. Inspiration can be the voice of God calling us to a better life or it can be the new “you” breaking through the mediocrity and crying out to live up to your potential (the promises of God).
Based on the teaching in the parable of The Sower and the Seed (which is confirmed by current research) when that inspiration occurs you have from a few minutes up to 12 hours to take ownership of it before it is lost. But the great thing is that if you “strike while the iron is hot” the transformation is incredibly easy! Mark 12:30 tells us to involve our heart, soul, mind, body, strength, understanding – all that we are in our involvement with God. This is what I call the multi-modality approach.
The more of you that you involve in any change the faster it happens. If you are dealing with sickness, deal with your heart, change your emotions, work with your body; bring every part of your into alignment with the promise of God that inspired you to hope. And never wait. Waiting is simply a form of resistance; it’s your heart trying to preserve what you have accepted as normal. Resistance will show up in many forms, but understand from the start that what seems like insurmountable obstacles is simply the heart trying to keep you in this place that you’ve accepted as normal for you!
It is this desire to bring a multi-modality approach that has lead me to develop dozens of tools for transformation over the years: The Prayer Organizer, The Releasing Series, Heart Physics, Meditations, Prayer, Mini-meditations, exercises relating to Pain and Pleasure, Put Off/Put On, Casting Down Vain Imaginations, Interrupt Destructive Patterns, Faith and Works and dozens of other powerful exercises. These all have one ultimate goal: harmony between mind, thoughts, emotions, feeling, behavior, and words!