Straight from a Weight-Lifted Heart
By Lisa Elliott

The burden was a big one. We could barely breathe beneath its weight. We were struggling to get up from under it. We carried it everywhere we went and it bore down heavily upon us in everything we went to do. It kept us awake at night. It sat in the middle of the room during daylight hours like an unwelcome houseguest as we tried to make our new house a home.

This is not the way we envisioned this move playing out. When the Lord opened wide the door for us to move back to a city where we could settle (Psalm 107), we didn't expect to feel so unsettled.

As we prayerfully considered our move in the months preceding it, the Lord impressed Malachi 4:1 (NLT) deeply on my heart. "But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture."

So, when would we experience this release? When would our hearts be set free to live out the life we knew God was calling us to live? And, how were we to lift this suffocating burden that was not only preventing us from living life, but also squeezing the life out of us?

Thankfully, it had nothing to do with all the love or warm welcome we'd received over and over again since our arrival. It wasn't even the fact that, amid the familiar, much had changed after twelve years of being absent. We had expected that. No, we knew we were exactly where we were supposed to be. And, yes, we were still recovering from the trauma of our move. But, an unexpected situation invaded our peace and oppression hung over our home like an ominous, dark cloud. It was very evident that the Enemy of our souls was pulling out all the stops to steal, kill, and destroy our joy (John 10:10).

My husband, daughter and I decided to lift the heaviness by praying through our house and committing it to the Lord. We began in the basement--the foundation of our home. We couldn't contain our tears as David read Psalm 127 aloud, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." (NLT)

I took on the main level. We stood in my kitchen--the heart of our home--with Proverbs 31 before me in the form of a cross-stitch sampler I had done when my kids were young. I prayed that God would not only feed our hungry souls, but that our home would be a place of hospitality. A place where those who enter our home would sense His presence.

When we ascended to the loft, Erin got down on her knees. Through tears she prayed through Psalm 90. Asking for protection and peace over our home. Then she shared a picture God had clearly given her in her mind's eye. It was a waterfall being poured out over our house. Flowing from heaven and bringing life, hope, and healing to us.

What Erin wasn't aware of was what God had shown me in my Bible reading that morning from Ezekiel 47:8-9, 12 (NIV). It says, “This water flows...[and] enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”

Life. Growth. Fruit. Healing. All beautifully packaged as a gift within these beautiful life-giving verses in God's Word, now alive and active in me! The image of God's life being poured over and through us, reviving all the things in our lives that were dead and producing new life out of things that were naught.

Much to my surprise, I read about this River of Life two more times in the days to follow, Joel 3:18 (NIV) says, “In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias." And again, in Zechariah 14:8 (NIV), which says, "On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, ... in summer and in winter."

It was a powerful time of prayer, claiming life over what Satan was working hard to put to death. God heard the cries of our hearts and within the next few days the heaviness was lifted. While I know it will take time to uncover and discover all the life God has waiting for us, I know there is life to be lived, all because of the redeeming, restorative, refreshing, reviving, life-giving power of God being poured out over us.

What burden are you carrying? What weight are you under? What thoughts are holding you captive? What life is God calling you to live that you don't quite have the freedom to live? Prayerfully give it to Jesus and allow His life-giving Word to pour over you.

"The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads" (Psalm 145:14, NLT).

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Need a little extra encouragement? Discover more inspirational blogs by Lisa Elliott, Straight from the Heart.

About this Contributor:

Lisa Elliott is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of The Ben Ripple, Dancing in the Rain, and A Ministry Survival Guide. She’s also a writer for Just Between Us Magazine, theStory, and Good Ground. She and her husband, David, have four children (three on earth, one in heaven) and serve the Lord together in Stratford, ON, Canada.