The Difference of Eighteen Inches

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
 I John 4:16

Eighteen inches. A foot and half. Not that much. Not really. Not in the big scheme of things. Does a foot and half really make a difference?  It does if you are buying a pizza. One 18 inch pizza gives you the equivalent amount of pizza as five 8 inch pizzas at a savings of about $23. In 2000, it was the difference between winning and losing the Super Bowl. The Tennessee Titans were 18 inches short of the game winning goal line. The Kansas City Royals learned in 1983 that 18 inches was the difference between a 5-4 win and a 3-4 loss. The inch of pine tar beyond the 18 inch limit disqualified George Brett's game winning two run homer. Eighteen inches makes a big difference.

Eighteen inches.  The distance from my head to my heart. Not that far across my body, but a giant chasm when it comes to my faith.  How often do I know something in my head, but don't feel it in my heart? I know God loves me, but I don't feel loved. I know I am to love my neighbor, but I don't feel a love for her-I may not even like her. I know God is faithful and I can trust Him, yet I worry and fret about so many things. I know God holds my future, but I manipulate and maneuver to be recognized at work. I jump up and down trying to get the attention of others to satiate my longing for praise. My insecurities, doubts, fears, hurts, and even my pride wrap themselves around my heart and twist my feelings into the lies Satan wants me to believe instead of the truth God says about me.  My head and my heart are disconnected. 

I John 4: 13-16  gives us a way to fix this disconnect of head and heart. First, connection starts with abiding.  We have to get our heads right. In order to do that we have to spend time in His word. We have to read it, ponder it and meditate on it. Next, we need to notice His handiwork in our life and give Him credit for it. We need to keep an eye out for the trace evidence of His intervention in our lives. His fingerprints are there- we just need to find them. Then, we need to share with each other the small (and big things) we see God doing around us. Last, we need to believe what God says. We need to speak his truth to our hearts, not the lies we have rehearsed for years that Satan has whispered in our ears. We have to plant God's word deep in the soil of our hearts so it can grow roots that feed our faith. We need to memorize it.

God wants us to know and believe the love He has for us. He doesn't want us to doubt that love. He wants our mind and heart to be in the right place. Connected to each other. Connected to Him.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I want to fully abide in you. I want to believe in your love so much that my heart is at rest.  I want to know to know with every ounce of my being that you are enough. Connect and bind my head and my heart to you.
Amen