I went on a journey... a journey to my heart. Below is my testimony. For more information, check out
http://iblp.org/programs/journey-heart
I make it to Chicago to start day 1 of my Journey. I
filled out the spiritual application, and then headed in to have my interview
with Mr. Gothard. I walked away 15 minutes later, thinking OW. That HURT. Well, now I knew that what my parents did was
absolutely necessary, and it sure did bring me to tears, knowing that I
couldn’t be friends with this person anymore. But that wasn’t the core problem.
Day
2 and 3 (Sunday and Monday) went by just fine, especially the road trip.
Getting to finally see the North Woods was amazing. I knew it was the perfect
place to get alone with God, and speak with Him intimately. Boy was I in for a
surprise.
Day
4 (Tuesday) was one of the biggest highlights for me. Right after dinner, I
immediately went and sat in one of the living-room chairs, watching our group
leader do all of the dinner chores by
himself. I told myself over and over to go help him, but couldn’t bring myself
to do it. Just as he’s finishing up the cleaning, I force myself to apologize
to him. He accepts my apology, but he wasn’t going to let us all go off easy.
We were all gathered in
the living room, waiting to go through the next heart devotional. Our leader
sat down, looked at us all in the eye, and told us that all we had been doing
since we started the Journey was talk about movies, cars, government, and other
things of the flesh. On top of that, he told us that we were being a bunch of
wussies, not doing any work in the kitchen, and not much anywhere else either.
At least three of us were in tears, and all of us were laid out on the ground,
crying out to God to forgive us for not focusing on Him. About half an hour
later, we started laying hands on each other, and praying for one another,
which lasted about 45 minutes. It was absolutely incredible. We mentally vowed
to try to keep our talk on things above, instead of on things on earth.
My Core problems were
revealed on day 5 (Wednesday) as we went through one of the devotionals, A
Murmuring Heart. I realized that my friendship being broken, facebook being
taken away, and other things were all because of one thing: My dishonor and
disrespect towards my parents. None of it would’ve happened if it had not been
for my murmuring heart against my parents, which goes directly towards God.
Again, I was in tears, and asked God to forgive my murmuring heart.
The last important
event that took place on The Journey was on Day 6 (Thursday). That day, we
fasted. Until dinner anyway, but still, it was a fast. Right after dinner, all
the Journey groups watched a video by Louie Giglio, on how big the stars are,
in comparison to the earth. What can I say, I’m an emotional guy! I broke down,
yet again as the video ended, as did another guy. We cried on each other’s
shoulders as everyone else headed out of the room. We hadn’t even met, but it
was a special moment. The two of us headed up to the prayer tower to join
everyone else. We cried, and poured our hearts out to God. 3 hours later,
everyone headed back home. That was one of the best 3 hours of my life. I
realized that day how powerful and mighty
God was. I also realized how important and special prayer was.
Days 7 – 10 went by
nice and smooth, reaping beautiful truths from God’s Word. Intimate time with
Him, learning and being convicted.
I came back home a
different person. I came back home changed. I came back home broken. God seems
to work in many different ways, but He has the same basic plan. He will convict
you, causing you to cry out to Him, asking for His forgiveness. He willingly
does so, and changes your heart.
God can’t change your
heart until he breaks it, melts it down, and then forms it into what He wants
it to be. But you also have to be willing to let Him mold your heart. That’s what He did to me. He broke my heart,
and molded it into something new.
The Journey helped me
realize that I am a human being, in need of help. God’s help. I urge all
believers to take a journey. A journey to your heart. But be warned, you might
not like what you find. Are you willing to let God examine you, and melt you
down?
