I am blogging for Lent. Pouring in not taking out by sending excerpts from my new book,

THE TOV HEART: God's Design for a Life Rooted in What Matters Most

If you are intrigued, you can order it from Amazon here THE TOV HEART

Whether you get your own copy of the book or not, it is my hope and prayer that you will be blessed and challenged to look for more with God - Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit. No matter how much you think you have, there is always MORE! Godspeed!

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

– 1 Corinthians 13:13

“Encouragement is like water to the soul; it makes everything grow.” – Chris Burkmenn

For a seed to begin to germinate, it must absorb water. Water, being the source of life, must permeate the seed to rehydrate the seed’s cells.

Note that the seed’s cells are not dead. They are simply dormant. The same is true of your heart. It may feel dead - locked away, buried, shut down - but it’s not. God wants to awaken it. He wants to bring tov to your heart!

For you to begin to become who God created you to be, you must be saturated with love, support, and encouragement. Life just doesn’t happen or magically appear. This saturation must take place so that your heart can be open to the possibility of life. Nourishing your inner places of dryness. Places locked away and protected from the pain and trauma of the world and the devastating effect of sin - both yours and others - must first be watered. Your heart must experience love, support, and encouragement. The writer of Hebrews understood how important this is:

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” – Hebrews 3:13

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” – Hebrews 10:24

The initial impact of love, support, and encouragement begins the process that softens and opens your heart up to God and to others.

This is why isolation is so deadly and why it is one of the Evil One’s most powerful tools. Our isolation is not just physical. Often, we appear physically present and yet our hearts are locked way. Emotional isolation is just as deadly, maybe more so. Whatever we shut ourselves off from others is a recipe for disaster.

You can only experience love, support, and encouragement in the context of others. Ideally, in the context of Christian community.

We’ll discuss Christian community in more depth later. But for now, simply recognize the way God works in and through those who deeply love him and seek to be in close, committed union with him.[i] Your heart being nourished and renewed through the living water of Jesus flowing through them into the world.[ii]

To be clear, Christian community is not only found in a church you attend. My Christian community is wide and varied. Some of my deepest, most encouraging and supportive relationships are outside the church I attend. They are my allies nonetheless, they have my back, and I have theirs.

There is one beautiful, powerful thing they have in common - a passion for Jesus and union with him. If you’re not there yet, take heart! If you really want it, you will find it and, one day, that will be you. Your life overflowing into the lives of others.

[i] John 17:20-23

[ii] John 7:38

Excerpt From THE TOV HEART: God's Design for a Life Rooted in What Matters Most

Copyright © 2025 Ray Schmidt