I can not keep count of how many times things have gone in the opposite direction, contrary to original intention , how many times I have failed in certain areas. I remember some ventures I had embarked on and how some of them came tumbling down either due to my unpreparedness or a sheer unpredictability of external forces. Does this then make me a failure? By no means, it just gives me a fresh opportunity to revisit the drawing board, pray about it to be doubly sure, make some adjustments, or get another dream.
As simple as this solution sounds, sometimes the process doesn’t seem as easy.

Let’s be real, no one likes disappointment. There is something about building hope and expectations, dreaming about something, starting a venture with such positivity and courage especially when you have done your homework and put certain things in place and then having it all go down the drain. It is painful and, if not handled properly, can lead to discouragement.
Some people bounce out of discouragement as quickly as they get there, some struggle a little longer, and others almost never recover, and one might ask or wonder why.

Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 12A refers to it as a ‘sick heart’ (Hope deferred makes the heart sick).
We have so many physically healthy individuals who have sick hearts and though healthy on the outward, their insides( hearts ) are so sick that they are not able to carry to fruition what they have already conceived in the form of dreams.Just as a woman needs to be healthy and fit to carry her baby to full term during pregnancy, your heart needs to be healthy to be able to carry dreams, visions and goals to fruition. At this point, it is important as a reminder that every human is made up of three parts. The Spirit, soul, and body. You are a Spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body.

Our spirits were dead as a result of sin, and we were separated from God. As a result of Christ’ death on the cross and His resurrection , our spirits are now alive when we receive the gift of salvation by surrendering to God, that is what is referred to as the born again experience. When this happens, your Spirit is completely pure and whole, but your soul ( mind, will, and emotion ) does not automatically change. You still think the same and may still react with the same emotions when things happen until you train it differently with the word of God and your body follows, which ever is more dominant .

So, how do we avoid a sick heart ?
The word used for heart in this scripture in proverbs 13:12 in Hebrew is called labe, which describes feelings, the will, and even the intellect. According to Romans 12 : 2, this part of you gets transformed through renewal. This is a process, and it is not instantaneous .Your heart( mind, soul, will, and emotion)needs a lot of nurturing to be transformed to think, act, and function as God intended. This is hard work, which must be intentional, and a lot of people are either not willing to put in the work or are ignorant that they need to put in the work.

So went you get inspired with a dream, a vision or a goal and you set out to run with it, things are going to come against you and when they do, they come at your heart and if you do not feed and nurture your heart with truth, then you are going to go with feelings and since feelings get hurt, feel rejection and get discouraged, you will experience these things. The good thing is that if your heart is healthy, if it is nutureed right, you will see these feelings as the distractions that they are and you will be able to shake them off and pick up again when things don’t go right or when you fail. If your heart is not nurtured right, failures of any kind are going to nip at it until you get discouraged to the point where you doubt even the very things you were sure of.

Much Blessings

Kingdom