(The 3 stages of Purpose & Love)
In my last blog post, we talked about why our hearts needed to expanded and enlarged for God’s love to flow through, for His purposes and plans for our lives to manifest and for us to be fruitful while we are on this earth. Without an expanded heart, we will not have the depth or capacity to maintain and sustain Kingdom love (relationships/marriage) and walk in our purpose the way God originally intended. Go check out it here.
Today, let’s talk about the next stages of heart development — Elevation.
Every layer of healing brings a new level of elevation. When you learn the lesson, you elevate.
To elevate or elevation: raise or lift (something) up to a higher position; to raise to a more important or impressive level; promote; upgrade; advance; enhance; to increase the level or amount of.
As we learned in the previous post, the process of heart expansion is literally the process of healing, purging and delivering the heart. Once the heart is walking in greater degrees of healing and wholeness, the next stage is elevation. With every breakthrough, with every fresh freedom that comes from the removal of a bondage, there is a lightness and an elevation within the heart.
Hearts are meant to be light and free from bondage, sin, deception, darkness, bitterness, grief and sorrow. We are created to live as beings full of love and light. Anytime there is damage, unprocessed pain, bondage and darkness within the heart, it is burdened. When deep healing and purging occurs, there is more space for love. There is more space for grace. There is more space for the power of God to flow through. The burden is removed and there is lightness. Just like a hot air balloon tethered to the ground with weights, so does sin and pain burden down the heart. When the weight is purged from the heart, it expands just like the balloon rises to the sky when the weight is removed.
Taking this a step further, when we learn the lessons that the sin, pain, brokenness, struggle or issue taught us and are able to walk with away from it with wisdom, we have now moved into the next stage of elevation.
For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. – Prov. 2:10
Lessons learned equate to wisdom won. Wisdom won equates to PURPOSE. Wisdom gleaned through the process of expanding and elevating the heart is a special wisdom that God intends to use for His greater purpose and to work out for good for those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
When we have been healed and set free from the inside out, we must acknowledge that we have been given a great gift. To whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). We cannot receive the gift of heart expansion along with the related blessings and then fail to reciprocate or give back.
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. – John 7:38
The way we give back is by elevating into our purpose – our calling. When we have believed, received, and learned the lessons our soul needed, then comes the rivers of living waters that can help other people. Rivers of living water can only flow from an expanded and elevated heart. We elevate our hearts when we give up the false pride of saying “I can’t do it”, and humbly walk out the gifts, talents, dreams and calling that we have been assigned based on the lessons learned and our gifts.
To be truly walking in a degree of elevation, requires that we answer the call of purpose. When we begin to move out in the gifts, callings, talents and dreams that God has placed into us, we have now embarked on our life’s calling – the reason why we were put on this earth in the first place. Oftentimes, the things we have suffered from and survived are the very things that hold the key to living a life of profound significance and meaning.
Many are called, but few are chosen (Matt 22:14).
The difference between the called and the chosen is that the chosen Chose to Answer. – Marshawn Evans Daniels
The choice to answer the call to purpose is the foundation of heart elevation. Your heart absolutely must come up higher if you expect to serve Him in any capacity. Not in a proud, haughty way, but in the ways and purposes of God. Your heart must come up higher in thoughts, intents and motives. Our hearts must operate from the motivation and intention of God’s will as it is expressed in surrendered life. We don’t like the word surrender, but it is a soul level surrender and humility to say yes to purpose and yes to the call. It is pride and arrogance to run and hide.
I’ve heard it said that we want the crown without the cross. We want the outward accolades, validation, fame, success, money that comes from outward elevation, but we don’t want the responsibility and the weight to show up that elevation calls for. Elevation is a matter of the heart. Before there is an outward elevation, there is always an inner elevation first. The elevation of thoughts to God’s thoughts and ways must occur (for His thoughts and ways are higher (Isaiah 55:8). The elevation of our speech, our prayers, and how we show up and conduct ourselves has to be in place. Once these things start to occur, the outward manifestation of an inner elevation will soon manifest.
When God sees that we can be trusted with the call, without being in a state of pride, then He is The One who orchestrates the outward elevation also known as promotion.
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. – Psalm 75: 6-7.
Outward promotion without inner elevation always results in disaster. When a heart is still tiny and small due to unhealed wounds and unprocessed pain, if premature outward elevation occurs, the end result is usually destruction and delay. The heart expansion and heart elevation must happen first on the inside so that we are rooted, grounded fixed and founded in the love of God. This keeps us from being prone to seeking validation and approval from other people. Seeking external validation and approval is always a sign of heart insecurity which must be healed.
I encourage you today to not sit on your healing process. When you have allowed God to expand your heart by going thru the healing process, don’t simply stop there and refuse to move forward in your purpose. Take the next step and begin to elevate into purpose. Elevate to the high calling of God that you were born for. Let not the pain of the past or other people’s opinions keep you stuck. As Felix Anderson states, “You had a purpose before anyone had an opinion.”
Take the high road and do not give up on the talents, gifts, dreams and lessons learned that have been refined and expanded in the fire of life. Answer the call and elevate! Keep pressing towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus! Philippians 3:14
Until next time,
TB