This is a guest post by writer Lisa Hurst, of Athens.

God recently spoke to me when I was thinking about needing His breakthrough in several different areas of my life and He said, “You are victory!”
In a flash, I saw that all the victory that I will ever need is already stored up inside my heart. Like a keg waiting to have a tap put into place, my heart is brimming full of His victory! The moment I asked Jesus to enter my heart, I became full of all kinds of victory. (Christ in me, the hope of glory! Col. 1:27)
When the God of all the universe came to live in my heart He did not become any less of Who He is or all that He is! No, He just poured out a full measure of Himself into me! The One Who is infinite and never diminishes can pour out a FULL measure of Himself into every single heart and still have more to give.
That is so amazing!
It has been in the last few weeks that I have realized that when I am asking God to release healing, or favor, or blessing, or freedom, etc. over me that He actually releases from what’s already hidden in my heart! In one encounter with Him He walked me through some heart healing, and then I had a vision of my heart and it was full of holes and I thought He would come in and fill up the holes, but instead I saw water begin to pour out of the holes. It was an exciting moment when I realized that I was already full, but just needed the release of forgiveness to open the flood gates. Sometimes, we feel empty, but what I’m beginning to see is during those times we need to ask God to examine our hearts and remove any blockage from within ourselves in order to restore the abundant flow from within us. It’s not that we are running out, it’s that we have a blockage inside of us.
So much of these blockages come from internal healing that must occur as part of our walk into the fullness of His grace. We all have some baggage from childhood, and also more recent hurts that must be dealt with in order to experience a fuller relationship with Him. This is a step that I wish was more widely taught in our Christian circles. Yes, God redeems us fully, but we must learn how to walk out that newly redeemed life, and some of that process involves walking hand in Hand with the Healer and learning new thought patterns and finding the release from old and/or hidden wounds.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2. This scripture indicates a process. Something to walk out with Him. Everything He does is always all about a relationship. One of the best ways for relationship to grow is to walk through the good and bad together. I have so loved getting to know Jesus better and better while walking out my own healing journey! I have never felt more loved, and I wouldn’t know so much about who I am if I had avoided this part of my walk with Him.
I guess what I’m learning is that in order to know who I am, I must discover more about Who He is and then live accordingly.