Hope for Wounded Hearts
-Prize Winning Author-
TERRY BRENNAN
Rescuing Hidden Hearts
Relentless Obedience in the Key to Freedom
Introduction
Here’s the key. Right up front. Obedience.
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Obedience is the one thing God wants from us and the one thing He treasures above all others.
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So, there you are. Want to get your life straightened out? Just trust God and obey.
But, hey . . . if obedience to God was easy, we would all be fully obedient and living much more joyful lives, right? And this would be a very short book.
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Trust . . . obey . . . are simple to say, often very hard to do.
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Which is what this book is all about.
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Far too many of us are captives. Captives to lies, fear, trauma. Captives to circumstances, substances and choices that often trap us into regretting the past, being paralyzed in the present or fearing the future. Locked into a prison of our own making by accepting the lies we believe about ourselves as truth. Lies upon which we have built a misshapen identity.
And in the process, the person we were created to be was hijacked, hidden, and replaced by a false self.
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To be rescued from what we hold captive in our hidden hearts, two things need to happen. First, we need to be set free from what already holds us in bondage. Second, once free, we need to develop and exercise the courage necessary to release obedience into our lives . . . obedience which will open the flood gates of God’s future for us.
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Regardless of what has any of us in bondage, there is a way for the heart of each God-fearing woman and man to be rescued and set free, released from the lies that confine them.
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Freedom is waiting, and it takes a two-word process. Trust and obey. It’s not a magic bullet. It’s long and hard and frustrating. And it demands whatever it takes to become free.
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Over the next several chapters, I’ll share stories with you. Including the story of how Andrea and I learned principles that helped us walk through the process of growing in obedience—principles God used to rescue our marriage and our lives. In addition, I will share stories of the life-changing episodes other Christian women and men endured as they grappled with obedience. Not because any of us here are brilliant super-saints who have it all together. But because we were broken, beaten, despairing prisoners upon whom God lavished His mercy and patience . . . and then filled us with a life-altering truth that changed everything.
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The stories are very personal; the principles are universally applicable.
There is only one thing God wants from us. The one thing which is often so hard for me to give Him.
Trust God that
He knows
what He’s doing.
The sin that captivated, then captured, me is lust. For me, the fruit of lust was not only guilt and shame, but also hiding, fear and insecurity. The sin that captured you may be different. Satan doesn’t have only one specialty—he has a separate plan for each of us.
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But I can tell you, with utmost confidence, the key which God revealed to Andrea and me was not a lust key. Not a dishonesty key, nor an anger key. But a key that unlocks triumph over sin, whatever the sin might be.
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Whatever the lie might be. Whatever the chains binding your heart might be. There is a way out. A way to freedom. It’s a key, and the key is simple. Just trust and obey.
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Trust God that He knows what He’s doing and obey what God is asking you to do.
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Utilizing His key to gain your freedom is not easy. Surrender never is. It’s a process. It takes time, hard work and honesty.
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But it works. And you can be free. You aren’t the person you think you are.
To reach a deeper understanding of the key to our freedom, I need to tell you some stories—our story plus the stories of others who wrestled with God’s call to obedience. And I need to share with you a few things God revealed to me over several years of intimate, early morning conversations I recorded in one of the many journals I’ve kept for decades. I want to tell you who I used to be, who I am today and what happened in between.
Because, in telling our story–and having others tell you their stories–not only can I share with you the key to freedom, but I can also share with you the steps Andrea and I needed to take to gain victory and freedom in our marriage.
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The steps you need to take may be different. They probably are. God will likely give you other directives leading to freedom than He gave me. But the path to freedom is the same no matter the type of steps we take to continue the journey . . . the key to freedom will be the same.
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Christians, believers in Jesus Christ, will relate to the concept of putting to death the old man. In order to rescue your true self from the deep, hidden recesses of your heart, and for your true self to find new life, the imposter must die. Death to the ‘false’ man or woman; rescue and life to the ‘real’ man or woman..