Today I am coming to you from a beautiful mountain retreat area that I have come away to for the weekend to spend some time with God in meditation and prayer.

It is something I try to do regularly and I highly recommend for everyone. Even if you can set aside just a day or even half a day every now and then to be with God, it is so good for your soul.

Today I want to talk to you about living life from the inside out, living from the heart. We are born into a world that teaches us to live from the external.

We have to go inwards and learn to live from the inside to truly live.

Meaning and purpose cannot be found when we live from the outside or the external. When we live only from the outside, life is just a series of motions and moments – some good, some not. Eventually we ask ourselves what is the purpose of all this?

Purpose and meaning – not just in what we do – but in life itself is found when we learn to go inside.

Inside are where the deep springs of life-giving water are found. Some will be dry after living most, maybe all of life on the outside. But it only takes one moment, one encounter with God for the wells to be filled to overflowing.

Nothing can stop an encounter with God – not sin, shame, nothing. All it takes is a hungry, desiring, humble heart.

Life on the outside is noisy, hard, painful, stressful, tiring, requires striving and has no peace. It burns you out and it chews you up and spits you out.

A life lived from the heart that is united with Jesus and is one with Him through the Holy Spirit is one of peace, is joy-filled, is like living in the Garden of Eden before sin where you have everything you need. There is no pain, hurting, anxiety, rushing or toil. Just walking in perfect peace and harmony with God.

Living from the inside is like having a river that runs through you. A river of life, strength, peace, healing, health, joy and hope. And as long as you stay connected to the source it flows.

It’s not just the river that pours into us from Him that is so wonderful but I think when the river of love we have for Him is opened and flows through us and pours out of our soul this could possibly be the most powerful, life-giving, healing, life-changing river of all.

Releasing the river of our love to Him. Oh when you dig deep enough and hit that well and the river of love for Him begins to flow out of your heart there is nothing like it.

I have always said that just hearing the name of Jesus should cause a reaction in your soul. If we hear His name and it does not move us, we are too far away from the river. That’s when we know that life has taken over. We have to stop, strip back everything and seek after Him until we find our way back into the river.

A sign that we have found and are in that river is that your soul will be moved at the mention of His (Jesus) name. You will hunger and thirst for Him; you will long for Him. Your heart will beat for Him. This is where we need to stay; the place to live from.

If this vision of Jesus grows dim we have moved away from the river and are moving back to that outside place. To stay on the inside, to stay in the river, we must stay in a place where our hearts burn with passion for Him. Sometimes we have to fight through our natural self, our flesh, to get there. But He helps us as long as we are seeking.

God bless you. I pray you find time to get away with God this week and I pray that you find yourself deep in the river of love for God.

Leah  ♥♥