With all the hype and publicity of the new Power Rangers movie, its really got me reminiscing about all those years back when my kids were "power ranger die-hards." My one son was probably their biggest fan, hands down! I kid you not, for 5 years of his life, every picture that I have of him, his arms are up in the power ranger faux karate stance. Precious!!!! My day was not complete until he would run into the room, strike his pose, and yell, "shields up!" This was always followed by him announcing the animal he was morphing into.
As I am remembering this, the thing that catches my attention is "shields up." Throughout my life when things get too difficult to endure, I put my "shields up." It's an emotional response to trauma, to protect a broken heart, or prevent a heart from breaking. I believe God gave us this coping mechanism for just that reason. He values our heart above all else. So much so that he said in Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else guard your heart, for it determines the course of your life" God understands the heart to be the center of the whole person, not just the source of emotions and will, but also of wisdom and perspective. Basically the heart is who you are as a person. When we pick unwisely who to give the keys to our heart, we jeopardize the safety of our very selves.
But God never meant for "shields up" to be a long term solution. And yet a lot of us are walking around, for years, with those shields in place. We have been hurt, betrayed, abandoned or abused and the thought of letting that kind of pain in again is almost unbearable.
Picture a warrior in battle, sword drawn and shield up. The shield protects his very existence, because a blow to his vital organs would mean certain death. Some of us feel that way. If we let someone into our heart and they misuse or rejects us, surely we would die.
But God has another solution for us. he tells us in John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear."
And there it is, vulnerability. That's what we are really talking about. When you love and expose your heart, you are vulnerable to loss, abandonment and rejection. But God says, "in "real" love there is no fear." And then he really drives the point home by adding, "but perfect love casts out fear." John 4:18 Wow! When my eyes fell upon that verse and I really understood what it was saying, I'm certain I heard a hallelujah chorus singing.
There is a time to put my shields up. When I go into battle. But there is a danger in keeping my shields up permanently. I may be protecting my heart from damage, but I am also keeping out love. If I do not allow love to penetrate my heart, I can never have healing in the broken places, and I can never give love fully.
The shield I carry around with me, as heavy as it is, had become my companion. I wasn't sure I could set it down even if it was the best thing for me. But then I heard God prompting me, and that still small voice spoke tender, loving words. "I knew that people and the circumstances of life would break your fragile heart. That you would feel deep hurt from a fallen world, and if left untreated by my healing love, you would carry those wounds throughout your life." "But you have to lay down your shield and trust me. The one who loves you perfectly."
And then I understood. God had instructed me to guard my heart, but he had never intended for me to guard my heart from Him. God was simply urging me to chose wisely who to trust something so incredibly valuable to Him.