48 Why “Mustang Heart”?

Why “Mustang Heart”?

#48 in the Series:  Daddy, It's Me--Conversations of an Ordinary Person with an Extraordinary Heavenly Father

Not long ago, I was trying to remember why I felt the Lord had impressed upon me the name “Mustang Heart” 

for this blog. At that time I thought there were all kinds of parallels because it was going to be connected to and foundation for a women’s retreat with horses.  Things changed and the horse related retreat concept seemed distant, if not lost.  As I started writing the blog with the horse retreat concept seemingly out of the picture, I was having trouble seeing how the name fit.

Then these thoughts came to mind:

• Everyone is born with the desire to be wild and free, i.e. uninhibited; free to express themselves, fulfill their desires, to be happy and healthy. (God put these desires in us.)

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭37:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

https://www.bible.com/111/psa.37.4.niv

 

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭20:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

https://www.bible.com/111/psa.20.4.niv

• But something happens and it happens to everyone to one degree or another…Wounds, rejection, cruel words, unjust actions, failures, misunderstandings, broken friendships, crime, disasters…
• Usually before the age of twelve, children have already begun to hide their true selves as they develop coping strategies to protect their heart so that they can be safe and feel accepted, loved, and successful instead of feeling afraid.
• The only way to freedom is to find the truth.  The truth that they have buried about themselves and the Truth of their destiny.
• And the Truth will set them free.  Jesus is the Truth!
• If people will accept what he did for them, he will set them free to be themselves…the people the Father created them to be.  He is the only one, the only power that can lead them to their destiny.
• But there is an adversary who is constantly striving to kill their dreams, steal their identity and joy and destroy their hope.
• It takes a daily commitment to walk in the freedom Christ purchased.
• It takes knowing and believing the truth of whose I am, to carry me through the trials that inevitably come. 
• Life is not always green pastures…sometimes it is a blinding blizzard or a chilling flood or a burning drought, but God never changes and he uses everything that comes into our lives to build in us the character of Christ.
• He can use everything—what we see as good or bad; obedience or disobedience; life giving choices or death producing decisions—He uses everything for our good.
• He is not so concerned with what is happening in our lives as he is in who we are becoming. 
• He has a plan for all of us…but we have the choice to follow him into it or not!

It took me over 50 years to begin to re-discover who I am.  I find out more everyday as Holy Spirit—usually gently and occasionally using a whack on the rock of my heart—peels off the layers I concreted over my it as I journeyed through life.  Even though I accepted Jesus as my Savior as a young teen (or maybe because I did) I experienced a lot of trials that buried my heart very deeply as I battled through adolescence and young adulthood.  With a performance based religion guiding me instead of a love based relationship, I felt I could never measure up…not for my mother, not for my spouse, not for my church, so definitely not for God!

Then one day everything changed.  Someone helped me hear the voice of God in an intimate dialog that broke through to the inner sanctum of my broken, calloused, but oh, so tender, hurting heart.  The heart of the child that ached for approval and love for who she was, not for what she could do or how she could perform.  Father God said He saw me as His princess!  Since then the most common thing He says is, “I love you!”  It is not possible to tell me too often!  I love hearing His voice, seeing His smile, and feeling His arms around me.  Recently He kissed my hair as He held me!  What a wonderful loving Father I have.  He knows just what I need! 

Is my mustang heart free?  There are moments.  But I have to fight for it all the time.  The scripture I quote that helps me the most is Ephesians 6:10:

For (my) struggle is not against flesh and blood, 

(other people, circumstances, or even my own body)

but against the rulers,

against the authorities,

against the powers of this dark world

and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

And equally powerful and comforting, 2 Corinthians‬ ‭10:4-5‬ NIV:

“The weapons (I) fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. (I) demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and (I) take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

 

As I think back, it was these two verses that began to enable me to start believing and acting differently when I faced trials.  Over time they have given me success in many areas of my life.  I still quote them whenever I find myself struggling with unproductive thoughts. When I take my thoughts and compare them to the truth of scripture, if they don’t agree, I know they are a lie from the pit of hell and that’s where they belong…not in my mind!  I choose to think on:

whatever is true…noble…right…pure…lovely…admirable…excellent and praiseworthy.         (‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

Is it easy?  No!  It is a battle every day!  But it is wildly rewarding, exceedingly fulfilling, and immensely satisfying.  I have no doubt it will be this way until I see Jesus face to face in the throne room of heaven where my mustang heart will at last be completely free…to BE…me!

P.S.  If you are blessed by this blog, don’t forget to leave me a comment or send me an email.  Feel free to share it on your social media.  If you receive this in your email, you may need to visit the webpage (link is in the footer) to find the share buttons.  If you don’t receive it in your email, sign up for auto delivery at the top right hand column of the webpage.  Be blessed today!