Heart’sCry Study 3
“Flip-Flop, What’s Going On?”
Here we are at the halfway point in the study of OurHeart’sCry! We’ve asked God to search our hearts (Psalm 139:23-24), and He has been faithful to answer. What an awesome God we serve!
For some, God revealed the deepest and primary heart’s cry we will ever possess; one that we may never have been aware of. This is the cry of our heart to know Him, and to know the love He has for us through the gift of His Son. As you read through the “First Things First” entry, you found that God loves you, that sin separates you from a righteous and holy God, and that Jesus paid the price for your sins through His sacrificial death on the cross; granting you eternal life that can never be taken away. Through faith, you trusted and accepted Christ into your life and became part of God’s family. Praise the Lord! God’s Word says that “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10) What a day that was! It’s a day I pray you will never forget!
Others may have already placed their faith in Christ, and accepted Him as Lord and Savior at a time prior to beginning this study. Their hope of eternal life was secure. However, they realized something had been hindering them from obtaining the full and abundant life that God desires. They wanted to experience that kind of life, but found it difficult to attain.
Some had been Christians for awhile, others were new in Christ, but we all came to the knowledge of a “secondary heart’s cry” in our lives calling out to us. This is where we found “common ground” in our study. Descriptions such as “lonely, bitter, abandoned, overwhelmed, depressed, inadequate, lost, down, discouraged, used, failure, empty, numb, worthless, distressed, despair” were words given to describe the “low” times that many experienced. We asked God to search our hearts to reveal to us what that cry was.
Once we became aware of our secondary heart’s cry, we evaluated ourselves as to whether we were “acceptors, projectors, or protectors.” One of the hardest areas to face in this was the actual truth before us as we realized how detrimental our heart’s cry was in our lives. Finding strength in Christ, we came before God with the truth of what’s been going on to be freed from its grip, before ourselves to understand and change our heart’s cry, and with others for the support, love, and encouragement needed to turn our heart’s cry to purpose rather than pain.
State of Confusion
We also learned in our last study that Satan will not be content to just leave you alone. He has used your heart’s cry to his benefit for a very long time, and will do everything he can to throw you into a state of confusion, or what we’ll later mention, the “flip-flop.” Scripture says that “your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8). He can no longer lay claim to your soul, but will do anything he can to render you ineffective in the Kingdom of God and leading others to Christ. His purpose and intent is to devour you through deceptions of many kinds. How can you know?
Have you been deceived in your heart’s cry? Revelation 12:9 says Satan “deceives the whole world.”
Have you been lied to in many different ways? John 8:44 calls Satan the “father of lies.”
Have you been burdened with doubt? One of Satan’s many schemes is to fill us with doubt on what we know to be truth.
In Genesis 3:1-6 Satan convinced Eve to eat of the fruit of a tree that had been forbidden by God to eat from. God said, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:17). Satan cast doubt by saying “You will not surely die.” (Gen.3:4). With doubt of the truth in her heart she believed the lie, and deceit from the evil one lead her astray.
You now know the truth of your heart’s cry. Has Satan thrown you into a state of confusion through one of his many schemes, or perhaps through one listed above? The Bible says that “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”(1 Cor. 14:33). Has the peace you’ve felt through the truth of your heart’s cry revealed to you been turned to confusion? Are you in a “flip-flop” state?
“Flip-Flop…What’s Going On?”
“Flip-flop” occurs after we’ve known the truth, yet still allow the old nature (the negative aspect of our heart’s cry) to have its way in our lives. We’ve experienced moments of joy and elation as we’ve been set free from the burden we’d been carrying for so long. However, at times we may revert back to the destructive patterns and habits we had known and considered “normal” in our lives. Satan tries to use those times to cause you to fail, and forget the progress you’ve made. He wants to defeat you, and will stop at nothing to do so! He waits and looks for those moments when we slip a bit and become vulnerable. When they occur, he is ready to jump in and attack.
Rest assured, this is not a new experience what you are going through! Others have been there! Let’s look at what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans in Chapter 7.
“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” Romans 7:15
Paul is saying he knows and is aware of the good he should do (the truth is before him), but yet he is not doing it. The things he hates to do, those are the very things he finds himself doing! He goes on to further say:
“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:23-24
Does this sound at all familiar? Do you feel “wretched” at times? Has your heart’s cry brought you to a point of truth, yet you still find yourself at times acting out, thinking on, or feeling the raw emotions that had held you captive for so long? Has this confused you? It’s no wonder. Remember, Satan is the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33), a liar from the beginning (John 8:44), and seeks to “kill, steal and destroy.” (John 10:10). But there is good news!
“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:25
When those times of doubt and discouragement come, remember their source! Turn to God for the strength to endure….to win the victory. It has already been won through Christ! Yet as long as we are here, the battle is not over, and the stakes are high. People are lost and in desperate need of Jesus in their lives. God has commanded us to go forth and reach others for Him. (Matthew 28:19) Satan will fight against us with everything he has to see this never occurs.
Once we are aware of the battle that we are in, we need to be prepared to fight in it! We will cover this in our next study series entitled “OurBattleCry,” which is based on Ephesians 6:10-20. The battle is raging. You are in it. Are you prepared? Do you know exactly what that battle is? Your enemy the devil does. He knows all the schemes that will work in your life to keep you ineffective for God. It’s time you knew them too!
“Be Still”
In this whole “flip-flop” experience, have you been struggling to “fix” your heart’s cry on your own? Have you exerted substantial amounts of energy and found it wasted time? Has one of the greatest tests been with what your mind convinces you of such as:
-I’ve accepted things this long,….I’ll continue on.
-I’ve tried, but my temper keeps flaring up, I say hurtful things, I just can’t
“get it right.”
-I’ve confided in someone and it has helped, but change seems so hard!
Your mind races, you can’t sleep, you try desperately to make things right. You feel worse now than before you knew the truth! Have you ever thought of STOPPING and LETTING God have control in this?
“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”
Psalm 46:10-11
God will wait till we’ve expended all of our energy and done things “our way” before He will step in. He will be faithful to answer when we call on Him!
Where Are You God?
All too often we think improvement in our heart’s cry is through keeping busy and active in our own efforts. When we’ve done all we can, and things don’t look very optimistic from our point of view, we tend to pull back and become defeated. We lose hope. We act as if God is not there or involved anymore. We forget that He is all knowing and sees far beyond what we cannot. Let’s take a look at the Biblical account of Elijah, recorded in I Kings Chapter 19, as an example.
Elijah was a prophet of God in Israel from 875-848 B.C., during the reign of King Ahab; a wicked and unfaithful ruler for the nation of Israel. Elijah had just experienced great victory through God’s power at Mount Carmel in defeating the false prophets of Baal (please refer to I Kings 18:20-46). However, Jezebel (King Ahab’s wife) sought to kill him, so he ran for his life. God spoke to Elijah in Ch.19:9 saying “What are you doing here Elijah?” Elijah answered “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” (I Kings 19:10).
Have you ever felt like you’ve done all you could to make things right, but have received nothing but further troubles in the process? Are you “flip flopping” between the truth and the lie, and it makes you want to “run away?” Elijah must have felt similar emotions. He was emotionally and physically exhausted, desperately alone, and fleeing for his life.
God’s Word further states in I Kings 19:11-13 that God then told Elijah to go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.
“The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave.”
It was not in the strong wind, the earthquake, or the fire that Elijah heard the Lord, but in the still small voice. Are you being still enough to hear His voice speaking to you, or are the distractions of life in what you are doing to try and “fix” your heart’s cry clouding your judgment? Are things too “busy” in your own thoughts and actions to hear Him amongst the “noise?”
“Be still and know that I am God….” Psalm 46:10
Elijah was distressed at the realization that he alone was left of the prophets of God and said, “I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” (I Kings 19:14)
Can you feel the emotion Elijah must have been experiencing? Are you feeling alone in your heart’s cry much like Elijah did? Are you being bombarded with thoughts that you are the only one out there with such distress and loneliness?
God then replied to Elijah, “Yet have I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (I Kings 19:18).
Elijah certainly did not have “all the facts” in his circumstance! God had kept a remnant of believers who like Elijah, had remained faithful to Him and would serve Him. Elijah had only seen what was before him. He could not know God’s unrevealed plans or purposes.
Could it be possible you do not have “all the facts” as well? God may be aware of some heart’s cries in others very similar to yours. He may want you to lead them to freedom from their heart’s cries. This could give them the confidence to share as well, and on and on it could go. God does have a purpose and plan….if we are willing to listen. He wants to help you, and He may ask you to help others as well!
“Fear not, for I am with you,
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you.
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
Will you be fearless? Will you allow Him to help you? Do not be deceived in doubting the truth you now possess! You have made great progress in discovering, uncovering, and exposing your heart’s cry. Press on, and allow God to work in your life through this. Give your “flip-flop” over to God. Surrender it all to Him. Be still before Him, and He will move in your life in ways you never dreamed possible. He alone will bring about “the time of rejoicing” we will talk about in our next study!
Stay Still?
You may be wondering, “how long should I stay still?” Do not confuse stillness with disability! God will use the stillness we experience before Him to spring us to action! Let’s look once again at the prophet Elijah.
After God told Elijah about the seven thousand who did not bow to Baal, I Kings 19:19 says that Elijah “departed from there…” Once Elijah heard from God, he moved and set out on the task that God placed before him. There was no longer any indecision, fear, or running away! God wants us to be still before Him, but he wants us to be people of action as well. When we hear His voice, we need to obey. Will you be still and listen for Him? Will you spring to action when He calls?
A Personal Heart’sCry
Since the truth had been revealed in my heart’s cry, I thought sure everything would be “smooth sailing” from here on in, and it was for a time. I was clueless, however, to what lie ahead. Knowing what my heart’s cry was, and seeing some positive changes shortly after, I figured I could “fix” things on my own from this point on…through my own efforts. Plans of how this change was going to happen in my life were laid out…step 1, step 2, step 3 and so on. I was certain my plans were flawless.
We often forget what a formidable foe Satan is. His methods are devious, and he is relentless in his pursuit to have his way. To my shame, I often forget the power God possesses and desires to use in my life to defeat Satan. Because of this, I left myself wide-open and vulnerable to his attacks.
After revealing the truth in my heart’s cry before God, myself, and my truth trustee’s, I felt such freedom. A huge burden was lifted after years of pain and heartache in many ways. To have days with no conflict honestly felt a little strange at first after living with the burden of negativity in my heart’s cry for so long. Then there were times where issues, circumstances, and situations would occur which would remind me of how things “use to be.” As this continued, seeds of doubt were planted in place of where forgiveness and faith should have grown.
The well laid plans I’d made were beginning to be challenged. Attacks on my mind returned to remind me of what I’d tried so hard to forget. I was once again plagued with thoughts of fear and doubt, inadequacy, and worthlessness. I was “flip-flopping” all over between what I knew to be the truth revealed in my heart’s cry, and what Satan was attacking my mind in. I became withdrawn, lonely, and depressed. I saw my plans crumble under the weight of a effort void of God’s direction, and therefore negated any strength, power, or long term stability in them.
Just as Paul describes in Romans Chapter 7, I knew the things in my life that I should be doing, but they were the very things I found myself not doing. The areas I “hated” in my life were where I often found myself. The same arguments and trials began to surface again at home, increasing in intensity, threatening never to change. I went back to being unforgiving for anything that would occur, and even brought up old offenses as my line of “defense.” Each instance left nagging thoughts of insecurity and hopelessness. Circumstances and situations in my life were getting worse than ever! I had once again “bought the lies” about who I was, and they were consuming me.
Many sleepless nights of tossing, turning, and non-stop thinking followed. Anxiety and an overall dread of beginning another day became normal. I would wake up and think about when I could go back to bed, but knew I wouldn’t sleep anyway! There was a constant state of tension in our home. I was so “agitated” I could not relax. Satan was attacking with a vengeance which I’d never experienced before. He sought to “devour me.”(I Peter 5:8). I was losing ground with each attack because I was fighting unaware of his schemes; unprepared for the battle he was waging. He had me in a state of confusion, and I had lost hope. He’d been using my heart’s cry for years to his benefit, and was not about to let go.
The Breaking Point
One afternoon, I had nothing left in me to stand up to the attacks. It had been an especially trying day, and I “ran away” from it all to my bedroom. Thoughts of how worthless I was, how “useless” my life was, and reminders of the intense trials going on in my life taunted me for hours. I remember feeling as if there was nothing left to hope in, and a fear set in that I’d never felt before. The presence of evil was so heavy in the room. Over and over, suggestions and ridicule of how insignificant my life was, how nothing mattered, how I didn’t matter bombarded my thoughts. Exhausted physically and emotionally, I was beginning to give in to the lies presented. Fearful thoughts and plans raced in my mind that I never imagined I could see as possible or entertain began to make sense. The urgency I felt compelling me to follow through on such notions was relentless. It was methodically wearing me down to a breaking point.
In a moment of desperation and panic I cried out, “enough, leave me alone Satan. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!” I clearly spoke out my despair, called on God for help through His Word, and rebuked Satan of the attack he held me in. That moment was chilling and fearful, yet also the most powerful and miraculous occurrence I’d ever experienced in my life! Immediately, there was a calm and peace in the room that I had not felt till then. The foreboding evil was gone, and after a few moments, a “still small voice” assuring me all was going to be ok. The power in God’s spoken Word broke the threats of a menacing presence that had been seeking to consume and destroy.
I had a deep sense and awareness that more things had changed than just the peacefulness and serenity in the room. There was now an understanding that the battle was far bigger than what I had seen or experienced. A realization of the consequences of trying to live my life with God on the “sidelines” of my plans was so apparent. I had been terribly wrong. I was ready to “be still” before Him and listen and look for His leading. It was in the stillness after the trial that He spoke to me. I called out to Him, and found Him there. It was where I intended to stay from now on.
As I submitted my will to His, He gave me renewed hope and purpose. The intensity of the trials and circumstances in my life subsided in the stillness of His presence. Difficult times still occurred, but God walked through them with me, and gave the strength to overcome. I am confident He will be there for the trials that most assuredly will come again. He is now central in my life rather than a “spectator” in my plans. It’s where He should have been all along!
In the process, I realized I am as I had so often heard after all: inadequate and unable. I’ve come to know that I always will be! That doesn’t sound like much of a revelation or anything to be happy in does it? But it is! The reason is because as I allow Christ full control in my life, I find I am more than adequate, more than able to live a life that is well pleasing to Him. It is through His strength working in me! When I am weak, He is truly made strong!
Years ago, a friend gave me the verse below to pray in and think on through a very trying and painful time with back problems; which eventually required surgery. It had been a slow recovery, and I couldn’t understand why so many things seemed to be going wrong throughout. This verse helped greatly through that trial, but never in the way it did all these years later.
And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Luke 22:31-32
Satan had indeed “sifted me as wheat,” but praise God, just as He had prayed for Simon in his time of trial, He was praying for me as well! My faith ultimately did not fail, and I returned to Him wholeheartedly. I wanted more than ever to follow His will for my life. God was asking me to “strengthen my brethren” in sharing everything I’d experienced, and I intended to do so with all my heart, soul, mind and strength! He had refined me every step of the way in my heart’s cry to be used for His intended purpose.
Is Satan, “sifting you as wheat?” What areas has he continued to attack you in? Has he caused you to “flip-flop” lately? It’s his “last stand” and he knows it! Claim victory over his lies, deceptions, and tactics with what you know to be the truth. Rebuke his deeds in Jesus name. Speak God’s Word over him and he will flee.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
God has turned my weeping to joy! We’ll cover this in our next study. Are you willing to let Him do the same in your life? Are you willing to be still before Him?
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are so worthy to be praised. Thank you for Your presence in our lives. Satan seeks to render us ineffective for You, and we ask you to make fully known to us his schemes. Give us the strength we need through Your power to claim victory in this. Help us to be still before You, and to know that You are God. Show us Your will for our lives Lord, and then may we fulfill it with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength. In Your name Jesus we pray, Amen.
Scripture taken from The Holy Bible ~ King James Version
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved
OurHeart’sCry Personal Journal Entry ~ Study 3
“Flip Flop, What’s Going On?”
Bible Memory Verse and Prayer: Commit to memory Psalm 46:10. Incorporate this verse into your daily prayers. Pray often throughout your day (“pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5:17).
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah”
Psalm 46:10-11
1) Have you experienced what we have termed “flip-flop” since our last study, and if so, in what ways?______________________________________________________
2) Were you aware of the “counter attack” Satan has begun at the truth being revealed in your heart’s cry?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3) In what ways are you now aware of his schemes? (examples: through his deceptions, doubts, lies…etc.)?_____________________________________________________________
4) Would you say you’ve allowed yourself to “be still” and allow God to work in your heart’s cry, or have you been a “fixer” through your own strength?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5) Are you willing to surrender all of your plans and ideas in your heart’s cry and to be still and know that He is God?___________________________________
6) If yes….(journaling your progress has great benefits!)
I have surrendered, and have “been still” before God. I have seen Him work in my life in these ways:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As God works in your life, and reveals things to you, praise Him! “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Stand strong and have faith in His Word!
Open forum: If you’d like to share what the Lord is revealing to you, or if you have any prayer requests, please send them to publishingHisname@gmail.com We will post them in our Prayer & Praise section so our OurHeart’sCry Team and others in this study can be in prayer with you! God Bless~
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