Articles & Posts
Come Deeper
It will be late February by the time you read this. 2025 is well underway (!), and I wanted to offer a few thoughts for your life with Jesus. First, let me express the deep and profound gratitude of our entire team for your generosity. We are a small nonprofit that has a massive global impact at the epicenter of the war for the human heart. This happens because we are supported by the financial gifts of our friends––like you. Your loving support, whether it is monthly or annually, is what enables us to have this stunning global impact! So, thank you!!!! Okay. Moving on… I think most of you know that I started producing short “Friday videos” from me to you as a spiritual father. If you were already signed up for our daily reading and/or our weekly emails, you’ve been getting those videos by email. We’re going to try to get them loaded onto our app, but in the meantime, if you’d like to receive these videos, come to wildatheart.org, log in or set up an account, and sign up for the weekly emails. Anyhow, I did a video a few weeks ago sitting at my kitchen table with my journal out, my phone (through which I listen to worship), and the Scriptures. I was reflecting on my need to reengage with my daily rhythms. Somehow the dizzying pace of the holidays and the start of what has been an exciting new year had caused me to let my practices slip away. And the thing is, you can get away with it for a little while. But only a little while. The well begins to run dry, and we find ourselves living more out of self-effort than out of our union with Christ. (I remember our dear friend Craig saying that he could skip the daily prayer for about three days before he really felt the effects of it.) I was surprised at the number of responses we got to that particular video. Even the best of us fall out of our sacred rhythms, so you’re not alone in that. This is your reminder to take those things up again. But the why is very important for us to keep in front of our hearts and minds. Why? Years ago the brilliant Dallas Willard wrote a book on the spiritual disciplines titled The Spirit of the Disciplines. He wanted to move to the forefront of the conversation the why behind any spiritual practice, whether that be prayer, worship, fasting, Scripture study, etc. The spirit behind the disciplines, Dallas explained, is that we pursue these things in order to tap into the unending resources of the life of God in us. Flowing through us. Without that why (the spirit of these things), they become rote and routine, and we begin to let them go. But when they are for us the very source of our intimacy with Christ, the deepening of our union—out of which flow joy, love, strength, comfort, guidance, and all the wonderful things union with Jesus brings––we don’t need to be persuaded to keep them up. We can’t wait to get to our sacred practices each day! The world is a withering place. The pace at which most of us are required to live, the inundation of content coming our way, all the heartaches––it’s very draining. Union with Jesus is the only thing that will see us through. And union, once we begin to savor it, is not something we have to be convinced to pursue. Our soul craves it. I started a new journal this year like I typically do. In the front of that journal, I have a list of truths that I personally need to be reminded of each day. I journal when I’m praying, but normally to record encounters with God and important things he has been saying to me. I need to come back to them and see them in black and white. I have my Spotify go-to worship list, which I update seasonally. Worship is a core part of both Stasi’s and my sacred rhythms each day. Especially at evening prayer. And I’ve been enjoying the Jesuit prayer app Pray As You Go, a lovely daily meditation on Scripture with music and guided prayer. It’s simple, like our own Pause app, and I think you would enjoy it. I’m putting these examples in front of you to help you return to your own sacred rhythms morning, afternoon, evening, and night. Finally, I was asking Jesus if he had a word for all of us in 2025, and what I heard him say was, Come Deeper Oh, how beautiful. My heart says yes! “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8). Come deeper, friends. Don’t coast. Don’t drift away. Turn the very opposite direction and come deeper into Jesus this year! You will never, ever regret it. Download the Wild at Heart February 2025 newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Merry Christmas!
A very merry Christmas to you, with every blessing we can pray over you and yours! This tends to be a mad time of year, and my letter is reaching you as things accelerate, so in kindness, I will keep it shorter than most. I want to give you three words to hold on to. The Incarnation continues. This is one of Dallas Willard’s most memorable lines for me. (From a man who gave us many memorable lines.) He was trying to remind us that the story of the Incarnation—God made flesh in Jesus Christ––is meant to carry on in unbroken succession in our lives. Christianity is not about “pull yourself together”—in this season or any other. It is the remarkable, breathtaking reality of Jesus himself now resident in our being, permeating our humanity as his life is carried out in us. This is why Paul would write things like this: My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you… (Galatians 4:19 NIV) Mary was in childbirth, and now the Spirit labors until Christ is formed in us. The Incarnation continues. And so, this year, as you open Christmas cards with various depictions of Bethlehem, the star, and the Nativity; as you listen to carols with lines like, “O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today”; as you drive by the somewhat tacky but delightful manger scenes your neighbors have put on their lawns (next to Santa and the Grinch), I’m encouraging you to make the most important association of all… The Incarnation continues. We celebrate not only an event but an unfolding reality! O Jesus, I need this to be true for me. I need your very life to be formed in me, in all of me. I surrender my humanity to be the new vessel of your Incarnate Glory. Saturate me with your brilliant life. Restore me, renew me, empower me. I invoke the Incarnation to carry on in me. In your mighty, beautiful name, Lord Jesus. Amen, and Merry Christmas from Stasi and me and our entire team. We love you and are so grateful for you! Download the Wild at Heart December 2024 Newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Jesus Stories
I have some wonderful stories to share with you. Jesus stories. Hearing Jesus at work in other people’s lives, in all sorts of situations around the world, strengthens our own hearts and encourages our intimacy with him…and our hope for what he might do in our lives! More than a year ago, I began sending out video updates every Friday by email. Short messages from my heart. The response has been breathtaking. I wish I had the right words to express how TIMELY all these messages are in my life, but especially the last TWO! The thoughts shared by John are direct answers from Jesus about deep and tender issues in my life and prayers. I type this out through tears filled with mixed emotions. Gosh, this journey is an excruciating and amazing experience. Thank you for this ministry's continued commitment to God, Truth, Courage, and Love!! (By the way, if you aren’t getting my Friday videos and would like to, get on our website, log in, and sign up for the weekly email. That way, you also get to see our gorgeous new website, which we launched a few months ago!) We also made a decision to put our Wild at Heart podcast on YouTube as a way of reaching a whole new audience. The results have been far beyond our hopes. (YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world; millions of people go there looking for answers to their questions.) Here’s one response from someone who found us there: A woman I dated handed me a Bible and a copy of W@H. I read and re-read the book knowing there was something there, but like a silhouette in a fog, I couldn't make out what it was. Papa God simply spoke to me, You. Weren't. Fathered. Those three words completely interrupted (thankfully!) the trajectory of my life. Shortly thereafter in the sacred quiet of my living room one morning, He spoke to me with such kindness and compassion and simply asked, Will you let Me love you??? In that moment I felt so raw, naked, exposed, vulnerable, and childish. Though I wanted to recoil into my poser, I knew in the depths of my being I needed desperately to receive His love. I relented…and in that moment I felt an immense sense of strong, secure, and safe fatherly arms wrapping around me and ministering to my boy-heart in a way I never could've imagined. God has used your revelation and story capacity to connect with me. "I get it" when you say it. I understand. Lots and lots of these stories are pouring in now from new YouTube followers. One of the greatest movements over the years for our ministry is the number of women finding Jesus and his healing through our work. This thrills us. Last year, I listened to your podcast series on spiritual warfare and heard about the concept of “agreements” for the first time. I thought I was decently seasoned in spiritual warfare after living in an area where witchcraft was the predominant practice. But after hearing John speak on agreements, I asked Jesus to show me any places in my heart where I had made agreements. Jesus answered. He took me back to my middle school years where somehow I had made an agreement that I would not be able to get pregnant, and even if I did, the baby would not survive. I have no idea where this thought came from, or why a 12-year-old girl would even think this, but an agreement had been made that stayed with me into my marriage. I immediately prayed for forgiveness for coming into this agreement and asked Jesus to come in and fill that space and sanctify it. Within a month of praying and canceling that agreement, I became pregnant! The story gets even better. The day I found out I was pregnant, my husband was away in Africa on a mission trip. I decided to wait until he came home to tell him the news. Upon returning home, my husband told me he decided to try the Prayer of Descent for the first time. He said during the prayer he heard Jesus tell him, Angel is pregnant… and it’s a girl. Sure enough, spring of this year we welcomed our baby girl into the world. There were complications towards the end of my pregnancy, during which I clung to the hope that Jesus himself knew our daughter and that there was no agreement of death on the table. My doctor said it was a miracle our daughter was alive and that past babies born under the same circumstances had died at the hospital we were at. Your knowledge and guidance on prayer and application helped us grow closer to Jesus on a deeper level than we knew we could ask for. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the work you are doing at Wild at Heart. Reading these stories makes me love Jesus so much! One reason we have made our presence known on YouTube is to prepare the ground for the release of our new film series Wild at Heart: The Series, which premiered on October 11. The response has been phenomenal! By the time you read this, we will have nearly 40,000 “views” of episode one. That number probably represents 80,000 people, because we know many folks have been hosting “watch parties” as they share the message and talk about it with their groups. The night of the premiere, I got this text from a friend, also a therapist, and a longtime advocate of this ministry: Oh my gosh, I’m so excited to watch the premiere tonight!! In my head I thought, I bet John and Jesus had a talk about this, and Jesus told you to release it for free on YouTube instead of Netflix and to trust him for the finances. Right? Hopefully, by the end of this month, I will have more money to give. What did this project cost? The answer is…over a million dollars. It takes a lot to do all we are doing in the world to heal human hearts and bring people into a genuine life with Jesus. And it is WORTH IT!!! A few times a year, I write to make our needs known and to ask if you would help fund this beautiful mission. We need to raise several million dollars by the end of the year, and I know your heart leaps like my friend’s to help us! Every gift is precious to us, from $5 to $50,000. Every gift is precious. So thank you, thank you in advance for helping us. To give, you can scan the QR code, use our app or website, or send a check in the enclosed envelope. Thanks, everyone! Let’s keep rescuing lives together! Download the Wild at Heart Fall 2024 newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Inviting God into chaos.
I had a bad dream last night. I won’t go into the details, but it essentially involved chaos all around me—in the world around me. I woke up before dawn because I needed to pray; Jesus prompted me to check a text from a friend overseas. She had written because she, too, had had a nightmare about chaos in the world that very same night. If you’ve been following the Wild at Heart podcast, you’ve noticed our concern to prepare the friends of God to handle crisis—however it comes—differently from everyone around them. We want to be the salt and light Jesus described his followers being, bringing peace and love to those around us in hard times. Because we are operating with a totally different worldview and toolbox. Last night’s events prompted me to give you a few tools I think you will find very helpful. Let’s start with Psalm 91. First comes the promise, He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand]. (Psalm 91:1 AMP) Then, a recitation of the many ways El Shaddai will protect us—rescue from every trap; protection from deadly disease, the terrors of night, the arrow that flies by day. Oh, to experience it! How humanity needs this in a difficult hour. Nine verses in, there comes a critical turning point: If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you…(vs 9-10 NIV) That “if” is very important. The refuge of God and his Kingdom is only for those who choose to take part in it. This is the same lesson Jesus gave in John 15 when he urged us to “remain” in him. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:5-7 NIV) There is that irritating “if” again. If we remain in him, the refuge and resources of God are ours. The practical application is to bring all of your household and all of your kingdom “under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and into his Kingdom” every day and night. We have authority over our “realms,” so bring your realm into the shelter of the Most High with this sort of prayer: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I (or we) bring all of our household, kingdom, and domain under the jurisdiction of the Lord Jesus Christ and into his Kingdom.” Be specific if certain parts of your realm feel under attack (finances, health, children, etc.). Now for the second tool: shutting down chaos. If we look back at Genesis 1, the birth of creation, we see our mighty God commanding order into the chaos: In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2 AMP) What did God then do? He spoke, he commanded, and order came to creation. Jesus does the same exact thing in the story of the disciples, the boat, and the storm. Suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. And the disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us, we are going to die!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was [at once] a great and wonderful calm [a perfect peacefulness]. (Matthew 8:24-26 AMP) We will need to follow our Father’s and our Master’s example. Because you are now situated with Jesus Christ in authority at the Father’s right hand (Ephesians 2:6), you can do this very thing: you can command the “creation Glory of the Living God, his mighty Breath and Glory against all chaos” throughout your kingdom and domain. Especially if you have first brought everything under the rule of Jesus Christ and into his Kingdom. This is the basics of James 4:7. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (KJV). First, we submit—in this case, bringing our household and kingdom under the authority of Jesus and into the shelter of the Most High. Then we command “the Creation Breath and Glory of Almighty God and the Lord Jesus Christ against all chaos trying to get into our household or kingdom.” For some of you, this makes massive sense of your current situation; practice it! For others, it might not make sense yet; just tuck this away for when you do need it. For He will command His angels in regard to you, To protect and defend and guard you in all your ways. (Psalm 91:11 AMP) I recommend you read through Psalm 91 every week and pray it over your household! It’s there for a reason. Download the Wild at Heart September 2024 newsletter here.
John Eldredge
I will not be shaken.
Summer is in full swing here in the Northern Hemisphere! The BBQs are out, flowers are blooming, vegetable gardens growing, crickets chirping, and the hummingbirds are zipping around the feeders. I looooove summer! This summer, I’ve been enjoying listening to the Psalms on audio as I putter about the yard. The themes of creation revealing God and nourishing our souls seem to fit beautifully with this season. As I was praying about this letter, I sensed that God wanted me to share with you what the Psalms have especially brought to my attention. It begins with these verses from Psalm 16: I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. (Psalm 16:7-8 NLT) What has my attention is the idea I will not be shaken. I love the firmness of that. I crave it. David is not merely expressing a personal resolve (I’m going to do my best not to be shaken), he is articulating a reality (the presence of God grounds me, and I find I am not shaken, thrown, knocked sideways, rattled by circumstance). Wouldn't that be lovely? As I followed some of the I will not be shaken “hyperlinks” around the Old Testament, I read this in Isaiah: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10 NIV) I love these passages. I wish they were truer of me, emotionally speaking. I don’t like how easily I can be thrown by hard news, relational tension, a sudden upset in circumstances. Years ago when Brian Johnson released the fabulous worship song “We Will Not Be Shaken” (Bethel, 2015), I played it over and over again. Not so much because I was right there in that place, but because my soul wanted to be. It was worship as “alignment”—bringing myself into alignment with who God is and what he has promised. (There are different forms of worship, of course: worship as adoration, worship as intimacy, worship as proclamation, celebration, etc.) Stasi and I were using that song in worship as proclamation: We declare this to be true! How do you typically handle times of “shaking”? Think about it for a moment—the vacation that gets rained out, the troubling news from your doctor, the unexpected bills that take your balance right down to zero. How do you typically handle these moments? If we would be unshakable people, let’s give attention to the path to it through these passages. First, notice things from David’s point of view: I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. (Psalm 16:8 NLT) As another translation has it, I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (NASB) He has “set the Lord” continually before him; that’s the key. He has a God-centered life and a God-centered view of reality. God has his attention. So when adversity comes, David is already situated in God. From that place, he is unshakable. (Most people run to God after adversity hits, which is fine but not ideal. Better to already be tight with him!) Second, there is the promise from God’s point of view: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10 NIV) God has bound himself to us. He will never abandon or forsake us. If we anchor ourselves in his faithfulness, we are steady when things look like they’re falling apart. The 2020 pandemic is in the rearview mirror, but I wonder if we learned anything at all from it. As for me and my house, we realized that we needed to be more “ready” for adversity. Not expecting it, not in a fearful sense, but in the sense of 1) I am not going to let the comfort culture lure me into a false sense of security, and 2) I am going to choose a way of living whereby we are situated in God each day, eyes fixed on him, hearts fixed on him. Trusting in his faithfulness, whatever the circumstances might be. This is how we can say—and sing—”We will not be shaken!” This is my starting place. The world is beautiful but fragile, friends. When adversity strikes (or disappointment, illness, loneliness—you know your hard things), being shaken doesn’t have to be inevitable. As Jesus counseled us, “Do not let not your hearts be troubled,” which means a troubled heart is not inevitable (John 14:1 NIV). We have a choice; we can prepare our hearts and souls ahead of time by setting the Lord continually before us. And when something hard does happen, I always start with Jesus—catch my heart. Catch my heart, Lord. Catch my thoughts, my interpretations, my emotions, my reactions. Catch me. I pray you don’t need this counsel this summer. But keep it in your hip pocket. Download the Wild at Heart summer 2024 newsletter here.
John Eldredge
As we look to summer
I had nearly written off summer. Stasi and I have a lot of obligations this year, some good, some simply necessary. But when I began to look at our calendar, it was so full of commitments I shrugged my shoulders and said in my heart, Oh well. Which is troubling, because we love summer, and it tends to be a very important time of rest and rejuvenation for us. I know there are people in the world who prefer a different season. But let's be honest: summer is the time when Creation is most alive. Everything is blooming, everything is green and growing. The lush grass invites a barefoot romp. The warm evenings spread a table for barbecues and dinners on the deck. It's a time of year when you have permission to take a more laid-back pace. And by all means, you should grab that permission! (I realize I'm writing to my friends in the Northern Hemisphere. Forgive me, all our friends in the Southern Hemisphere. You are into fall and looking ahead to winter. But I think the things I have to say here will be just as important to you!) With longer days, plenty of sunshine, pools opened up, beaches warm and sunny, parks beautiful, and everything leafed out to its fullness, there's just no denying that summer is a life-giving time of year. Which brings me back to my Oh well. Every year on the podcast and often in this letter, I urge you, our friends, to ask Jesus what he has for you over the next several months. Some friends of mine are moving suddenly, and their lives have been thrown into chaos. Other friends are scrambling to find something playful and restorative this summer. But all the more reason for them—and each of us—to ask Jesus what he has for us. It's too easy to fall into old patterns. “But we have to go see my parents.” It's too easy to feel that perhaps you can't afford the sort of rest you need. “I don’t have time this year.” Often, we let that subtle feeling of I'm not sure this is worth it get in before we ask Jesus what he has for us. Which is why I love the asking process. It is so good, any time of year, to ask Jesus what he has for you. Always. All those assumptions we make, that deep Oh well, might not have anything to do with what Jesus actually wants to offer. So here's what I've got to do: I first need to break agreements with Oh well, with resignation, with feeling like the die is already cast for the summer. Because in one agreement like Oh well, I’ve written off the next three months as unsalvageable. It's not true. Not for the living God, that's for sure. You might want to check in on any agreements you’re making about summer as well. Holy Spirit, am I making agreements about this summer? Are we making agreements about this summer (or winter)? Show us, Lord. We need to break those agreements in order for Jesus to speak to us. To love us. To be generous. To overcome the mental obstacles we've already put in place. As I said, summer tends to be a time of year when you have permission to live more reasonably. You can break out the barbecue, sit on your porch in the evenings, go for bike rides, take a vacation. So by all means, please ask Jesus what he has for you over the next several months. Lay down your assumptions and just let him speak. By the way, give it more than four minutes. Don't throw up a quick prayer, give him thirty seconds to speak, and go on with your assumptions. It might take a week or two of asking Jesus each day, What do you have for us, Lord? for you to be in a place to hear what he has to say. Stick with it! After I finish this letter I’m going to do exactly what I've said. I'm renouncing Oh well. I’m breaking the agreement that my summer is already sold down the river, and I’m asking Jesus what he has for me. Not just in terms of a special trip or something like that, not just one week of restoration. But more so, What is the pace you have for me this summer? Where is the joy, Lord? I promise he has far more for you than you thought, and I’ll wager that most of you are going to be surprised by what you hear. Download the Wild at Heart Late Spring 2024 Newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Breath of God
You, the followers of this newsletter, our podcasts, books, and events, know that it is our deep desire to give you tools for these challenging days. Sometimes those tools are for soul care, others for intimacy with God or for shutting down the warfare the enemy is bringing against the friends of Jesus. This letter encompasses all three. I’ve been drawn to the breath of God lately. It’s such a beautiful and powerful gift. Then the Lord God fashioned the human, humus from the soil, and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living creature. (Genesis 2:7, Genesis: Translation and Commentary, Robert Alter) The breath of God, the breath of life. This is how we came to be, how life was imparted to us by our Creator: He gave us his own breath. The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. (Job 33:4 KJV) When the tragic human story plummets all humanity into death, God has a plan for our re-creation. He showed his friend Ezekiel a vision about the coming re-creation of humanity, the new life that God would impart to those who come to Christ: The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life….I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 37:1-4 NIV) The breath of God creates us, and it re-creates us. We should not be surprised, then, at the scene from the book of John when the risen Christ breathed on his followers: That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:19-22 NLT) I find it absolutely beautiful, poetic, and deeply apropos that when it comes to our re-creation in Christ, it happens through the breath of God once again. Our co-creator Jesus breathed on them once more. You Narnian fans will draw immediate connections to the power of the breath of the great lion Aslan, C.S. Lewis’ Christ figure, which restores, renews, and re-creates. In a scene much like Ezekiel’s valley-of-dry-bones vision, Aslan and the children come upon hundreds of precious Narnian creatures in the courtyard and castle of the White Witch, all of them turned to stone. Bereft of life, robbed of breath. Aslan breathes on them, bringing them back to life. I found myself praying, I need this again, dear Father! I need you to breathe into me again, for I need your life afresh in me! Breath of God, breath of life, breathe into me again. Breath of God, breath of life, breathe into me again. Breathe into my heart and soul, my mind and strength. Breath of God, breath of life, breathe Hope into me. Breathe Love into me. Breathe Faith into me. Breath of Life. Breath of Life. The breath of God is also described in Scripture as a mighty spiritual weapon against the dark powers of the evil one. It happens many times in the Old Testament, where the blast of God’s breath destroys his enemies. But I’m thinking especially of 2 Thessalonians where it says that Jesus will destroy the antichrist forces with his breath and the glory of his appearing: …whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. (2 Thessalonians 2:8 NIV) And so when I find myself under spiritual attack, especially the assaults we’ve been describing on the faith of believers, I am also praying this: I command the Glory of Almighty God and the power of his Breath against my enemies. With great results, I might add. So I wanted to put this into your hands. The breath of God to restore you, especially specific parts of you that need resurrecting. And the breath of God against the forces of darkness coming against you. Download our Wild at Heart March 2024 Newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Refuge
I’ve been thinking a lot about refuge. Across the British Isles, particularly on Scotland and Ireland’s rugged coastlines, stand the remains of ancient stone towers, some of them thousands of years old. They fascinate me. Most are on the wild and windswept coastlines; many are found on the remote smaller islands. People living in those exposed places built these fortresses of protection against sea-born raiders, slave traders, and invaders. Later came the famous round towers of Ireland that dot the countryside wherever a monastic village once flourished. In the Americas, there are the Anasazi cliff dwellings built halfway up enormous rock faces in such a manner that when the ladder was pulled up, there was no way to access the community from above or below. Refuge. The human need for refuge. It is ancient, primal, and it helps us envision what the Psalms mean when they promise that God will be our refuge: But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. (Psalm 5:11 NIV) The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge…my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2 NIV) Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. (Psalm 61:1-3 NIV) And of course the famous Psalm 91: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you… (91:1-3 NIV) And then the Psalm goes on to talk about all the ways God will save you if you take refuge in him. And, friends, that “if” is very important. Taking refuge in God is a choice, a practice, and a cry of the heart. I think we need to learn the reality of this for ourselves. The developed world with all its comforts, armies, resources, and technologies has lulled us into thinking that our safety is found in where we live, in various public services, in our savings. And yet, I think many people are now feeling the intensity of the hour and the need for a true place of emotional, mental, and spiritual refuge. So allow me to say this as clearly as I can: Jesus Christ is the only safe place in the world. In him, that is. In Christ is the refuge we seek. There is no other. If you read through the “refuge” Psalms, they speak over and over of the act of “running” to him. The presence of God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—and the vast resources of his Kingdom are always nearby. But we do need to make conscious choices to take our refuge in God and his Kingdom. Otherwise, we are taking refuge somewhere else. (You might want to give some thought to where you do look for safety these days––for a sense of well-being, centeredness, groundedness, and spiritual protection.) Here is how we begin to practice God as our refuge and fortress: 1. First, we proclaim it. We declare it, as in Psalm 91: “I will say of the Lord, ‘You are my refuge…’” That “saying it” part is very important. You are aligning with reality; your soul and spirit will follow. 2. We practice the turning of the heart, for this is how we run to him. Say it out loud as your heart turns to God. “I run to you, Lord. I hide myself in you.” 3. We surrender all other self-protective strategies, like isolation or the need to be in control. We repent of looking to the world for refuge. 4. We ask God to surround us as our shield: “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Friends, we live in times just as dangerous as our ancient forebears. Let us not be lulled into a false security by the comforts around us. We must, we must practice God as our refuge. Here’s what I would add: a) Read through the Psalms looking for the words refuge, shelter, and fortress. Linger there. b) Practice a simple prayer every morning, like this: Lord, I run to you this morning. You are my refuge, my fortress, and I take refuge in you. I bring everything I am into you, Lord Jesus. Surround me with your protection; hide me deep in you. I think you will begin to see how important this is, and how wonderful. Download the Wild at Heart February 2024 newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Pausing in the Pressure
Life is so full. So fast. So demanding. Drive here. Pick up that. Make that appointment. Call that person. Call that person back. Try again. Plan the meals. Whoops, pick up something fast for dinner. Go to the grocery store again. Get the mail. Open the bills. Find space for your soul. Pause. Take a walk. Notice beauty. Feed the dogs, the cat, the fish, the plants. Go to work. Write the email. Navigate relationships. Pray. Pray. Pray some more. Dive into God. Get up earlier. Work out. Spend time in the Word. Volunteer at church. Scroll. Stop scrolling. Participate in your healing journey. Breathe deeply. If you are caring for someone? Double the list. For thousands of years, the pace of life was 3 miles an hour; the pace of walking. Now it’s, what would you say? Goodness, a LOT faster. But the soul hasn’t changed. The capacity of the soul hasn’t changed. The desires of God haven’t changed. The availability for transformation hasn’t gone away. It is, however, perhaps more challenging. At least it seems that way for me. I needed to schedule a lunch appointment today that was mentioned weeks ago with a person I’m looking forward to being with but what rose in my heart wasn’t anticipation but irritation. Irritation at an already too full schedule. Then came God. He didn’t come crashing in. No, I had to choose him. I sat down. I put down everything else, including my phone (the silent mode saves me). I turned on instrumental music. I shifted my gaze to fall upon Jesus and invited him into my irritation, my busy, my lack. I began to tell him how much I loved him. I loved him from the place of my irritation, my busy, my lack. And he calmed my heart. He reminded me of his love. He came with his tender presence and his promise. I’m not on my own. I yielded my schedule to him and the pressure I was feeling of meeting demands began to dissipate. My priorities began to align. His sufficiency reset my panic and my pace. His peace began to saturate my soul as our union became the deepest reality of my heart. As Jesus invited me to breathe him in and to trust him, my heart rested in my God. I believed him and hope rose. I love him. He loves me. Well, okay then. Friends, remember, he loves you too. I don’t know how you are today. Running or resting. Panicked or peaceful. But wherever you are, how ever you are, I invite you in this moment to pause. Turn your gaze to Jesus. Breathe him in. He is with you. He is for you. He’s not running at 100 miles per hour. He is walking alongside you, within you – moving at the pace of your breath, at the pace of your heartbeat, at the pace of your soul. Jesus, I invite you to come into this moment. Invade my schedule, my emotions, my day. I need you. I choose right now to turn my gaze onto you. You are strong. You are good. You are more than enough to meet me and help me in what this day holds. I give myself once again to you and I pray to live in union with you – just as you desire. My soul rests in you. Speak to my heart. Is there anything you would like to say to me? To remind me of? Oh Jesus, I love you. I breathe you in and I listen.
Stasi Eldredge
Merry Christmas Season!
A very Merry Christmas season to you! I’m betting that the flurry of the holidays has everyone quite busy, so I’ll just share a few thoughts. First and foremost, a big, sincere “thank you!” from Stasi and me and our team for the outpouring of love and support in response to my November letter. I let you know we needed help making budget as the year closes, and you are responding beautifully. Thank you! Things are on a good trend. Now—as Christmas draws near, I hope you find a few quiet moments to turn your heart towards Jesus. These are the moments we treasure at Christmastime. As you do, here is something wonderful to reflect upon: The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation…all things have been created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:15-16) All things have been created through Jesus. Most folks don’t think of Jesus as their Creator, but he is! In these last days [God] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. (Hebrews 1:2) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3) Now yes, of course—God our Father made all things with and through and for Jesus. So if it helps you, you can call Jesus your co-Creator. Still, it is an amazing thought. He is far more than Savior. As you look into the manger, you can say to yourself, My Creator has come for me! It’s significant that your Creator is involved in your rescue, because salvation is re-creation. The image of God in us was torn by sin and evil; God came to renew it. We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:10) If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) We have been, and are being, recreated by the One who created us in the first place. This is why Scripture speaks so much about being “born again.” Salvation is re-creation! There is more: All things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16-17) Through the Son [God] created the universe…and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. (Hebrews 1:2-3) Jesus Christ was utterly essential to your creation and re-creation, and now he is the integrating force of your life. O friends, this holds such hope for us! Because this is the hour of de-creation. The enemy and his forces are hell-bent, here in this last moment, to pull apart every element of God's beautiful creation. It’s a war of annihilation, a scorched-earth campaign. Everywhere you look you see the chaos, the fragmentation, the “unmaking” of things—from the sorrows of the planet itself to human relations, right down to our humanity. Especially our humanity, because it is the image of God in us. Whether it is physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually, we can see the plot to unmake humanity. But Jesus Christ is the integrating force of all creation, including our humanity. In him all things hold together, including you. He sustains the universe by his mighty command, and he sustains you. He is reintegrating you even now. When the pressures mount, when I feel like I’m being pulled apart at the seams, I cry out, Lord Jesus, my Creator—hold me together! Be the integrating force of my life! So this year, when you look into the manger, you can say to yourself, Here is my Creator, coming to rescue and recreate me. Here is my Sustainer, who holds my humanity together. Lord Jesus, hold me together! Be the integrating force of my life! For this is what we most need in this hour. Offered in love—and a very Merry Christmas from your friends at Wild at Heart! John Download the Wild at Heart December newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Evergreen
Friends, Comrades, Allies, Here at the end of September/beginning of October, I want to share this lovely passage with you: Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. (Psalm 1:1-3 NLT) I love, love, love this passage for so many reasons! I love the promise of flourishing and fruitfulness for those who root themselves in God. I love the offer of becoming “evergreen.” I love the hopefulness of this––especially in a time when just about everyone I know is running a little low on fuel. I also love the passage because it echoes Eden and foreshadows Eden’s return. For listen to this now from Revelation, where John is seeing the City of God come to earth: Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. (Revelation 22:1-2 NLT) Here we also have a river, The River, filled with life. We have a tree here, too, The Tree, alongside that River, and the tree bears fruit each season, just as in Psalm 1, and is also evergreen. Scripture uses these “hyperlink” images and references to help us get the full picture. Psalm 1 is speaking of our humanity, comparing it to Eden, past and future, and promising we can be little trees almost like the Tree of Life itself! Yes, please. Yes, I would like that very much. Follow me closely now: Eden was a place of supernatural abundance, for no evil or sin had yet touched it. The presence of God filled the place. The City of God is absolutely a place of supernatural abundance and provision, for the presence of God fills it. So the promise here “in the meantime” is that there is a supernatural provision for us now, from God, for our weary humanity! How do we tap into it? Psalm 1 speaks of being deeply “rooted” in God, our roots down into the river (which represents his provision, his very Life). According to the Psalm, we do so by what we are meditating on, what has our attention and affection. That’s big, and it’s practical. Gosh––if you just spend three minutes a day loving Jesus, you will begin to tap in. But I think there is more. I want to put before you once again the concept of being “amphibians,” men and women who comfortably move back and forth between the natural world and the Kingdom of God. For while we move about in this natural world, we are also “citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives” (Philippians 3:20 NLT). I’m bringing this up because we can’t rely only on this natural world to replenish and strengthen us. It has many gifts—like beauty, rest, and play—but it is not sufficient. These trees also need to be drawing upon the very life of God. Our family was on vacation in the Tetons this summer, a place of deep beauty and play we adore. Swimming the lakes, rafting the river, hiking the forest. It was Edenic. Then we got devastating news of a death in the family. All the joy suddenly felt very fragile. In the early morning, Jesus told me to go down to the river by myself (the Snake River, which flows out of Jackson Lake). As I stood there among the natural beauty, he said, You need to be an amphibian, John. The spirit of death is here. Start praying for the River of Life to wash you and fill you. I prayed for a long time as the Spirit led me, first washing my own heart and soul, then Stasi’s, then our family. I was tapping into the “rest” of the Kingdom of God, the supernatural provision—because the natural was not enough. The River of Life is ours right now, and we need it, along with all of the provision of God and his marvelous Kingdom. Some friends, also on vacation, texted a mayday prayer alert. They were in an accident. Jesus immediately had me summon angels to go to them and help them. That is another expression of being an amphibian, of living in two realms, two worlds. Angels are here to help us. Other friends found themselves beset by a sudden rush of chaotic events. “Chaos is here,” Jesus said. “Bring my Creation Glory against it.” That is yet another example––calling upon the Glory of God in our need. For his Glory filled the temple, and we are now the temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). So we can be filled with the Glory of God! We are living at a time when the natural “graces” this world provides are not sufficient to the pressures (and the warfare). By all means, get out for a run, ride your bike, listen to beautiful music, work in your garden. Those things help. But we must also draw upon the Kingdom of God. We simply must. Download the Early Fall Wild at Heart Newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Happy Summer!
A very happy summer to each of you! I really hope you have something on the calendar by way of rest and joy this summer. Even if it’s “only” evenings on the balcony or your back deck, summer can be so lovely and restorative. Let the beauty in! If you didn't catch our “What do I do with my summer?” podcast (titled “Rethink Your Summer”), search for our May 1st podcast wherever you listen. Or on our website, too. We are so grateful for each of you––our friends, our allies, our partners in this sweet part of the Story of God. Such beautiful, beautiful things are taking place through this message and mission around the world. I just had to share a few stories with you here. We just wrapped up our ninth Boot Camp, with 36 guys present. It is literally changing our men’s movement at the church. Over 150 guys meet every Wednesday night for open conversations and to do life together in our “Fight Club.” We only have 600 men in our church, so the numbers are not normal! More men come to our men’s events than women to the women’s events. It’s crazy! FOUR guys committed to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord on Saturday during Boot Camp!! That’s never happened before. Anyway, just wanted to share the good news that the message of WAH is impacting a huge remnant in our town. Lives are being transformed and marriages restored. Bottom line, there’s a move of God here! And this one: I wanted to tell you that my husband gave his heart to God yesterday, May 23, during his commute to work. He was listening to a podcast you did on giving your whole heart to God. And he did. Thank you for being the one God used to bring him to a place of brokenness and vulnerability. Thank you for speaking and teaching in a way that a man like my husband felt okay to engage in and be open to. He said he started crying as soon as he heard you praying on this podcast. That’s not like him. Thank you for telling the story of your deep wounds, which allowed him to go to his and cry to Jesus. I cannot stop praising Jesus for this gift! Doesn’t your heart just rejoice at this? And, friends––this is happening a LOT through our partnership, in so many countries spanning the globe. Jesus! We worship you, Lord! And thank you, everyone, for helping make this happen. We are a crowd-funded nonprofit. Which means that most of our income––the fuel for this mission––comes from the generosity of our friends. That’s how it works. A few years back, our board asked me, "If someone gave you $5 million, what would you do with it?" I immediately said, "foreign translation," because we have so many beautiful, healing resources that we want to bring to human hearts all over the world. Well, no one has given us the $5 million (yet!), but we decided to press ahead anyway. We have several languages under development now for the Wild at Heart, Captivating, and Becoming a King "Experiences," and also Wild at Heart BASIC and Captivating CORE (our four-day retreats by video session). Arabic is one of those languages, with lots more to come! Maybe if we all join together we can come up with that $5 million! Wouldn't that be a Jesus story? It’s been a while since I asked (we don’t ask often). I don't want to pressure or manipulate. I just want to remind you that we are still supported by our friends, and we would love it if you could send a little help our way. You can make a one-time gift or a recurring gift online on our website (www.WildAtHeart.org) or on our mobile app (the Wild at Heart app). Or you can send a check in, too. Thank you, friends. Thank you. Opportunities are opening up for us. We’d love to say “yes” if we can. Now back to summer. Make sure you are checking in with Jesus on your plans. Most importantly, ask what he has for your heart in this more playful time of year! That’s it. We simply love partnering with you! Download the Wild at Heart Summer 2023 Newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Technology Is Not Neutral
Spring has finally come to Colorado. Last evening, Stasi and I took a lovely after-dinner walk through the neighborhood. The sun is setting later each day, and it was one of those wonderful evenings where the deer were out and browsing, a few crickets were beginning to wake up, and the hummingbirds were whizzing by busy with their spring work. A soft, warm breeze carried the aromas of earth and newly awakened foliage. It was healing. Only fifteen minutes into the walk, we turned to each other and said, “This is so much better than screens. So much more restoring than technology.” You see, winter stays long here in Colorado. We live at 7000 feet, and spring comes very late; April is one of our biggest snow months. While the azaleas are blooming in Atlanta and the dogwoods in Portland, we are shoveling our driveways one more time. Over months and months of short days and long nights in winter, our evenings are often spent in front of screens. Reading online articles, answering email, or watching something. It's just not the same. The reason most people love summer so much—as we do—is that LIFE returns. It’s barefoot-in-the-grass time! The green, lush world beckons you to your garden, the beach, flowing rivers, your back deck. In summer we are able to live so much more as human beings were meant to live. Not all hunkered down in a cabin against the dark cold winter, but out and about—cycling, gardening, swimming, hiking, or just lingering on the patio with friends. It usually takes a vacation (or simply the first evening walk of the year) to make clear the startling difference between how life-giving nature is and how life-draining technology is. And so my fatherly counsel to you this month is to make the absolute most of the late spring and early summer. Get off screens and get outside! Let your full humanity come forth in God’s full creation. Friends, one of the great myths of the modern era is the myth that technology is neutral. It is not. When anxiety and depression rise in exact correlation to the amount of time you spend on social media (there's loads of research on this), when we know the internet is eroding our attention span (plenty of research on that too), that screen and cell phone usage is rewiring our brains (proof there also), you wonder why everyone isn’t cutting back on every form of screen time. You’d think we’d have these things locked up till absolutely necessary. But denial is a powerful thing. So is addiction. (Technology is addictive; plenty of data on that as well.) Suddenly, we have AI (artificial intelligence) upon us. It is upping the stakes at a dizzying pace. Snapchat now has an embedded chatbot; young people and children can choose to “talk” with an AI companion when their friends aren’t online…or even when they are. This is not good, folks. I recently watched a disturbing video demonstrating an actual interaction with AI in Snapchat helping an “anonymous” 13-year-old girl be groomed for sexual harm by a fictitious 31-year-old man. The chatbot just helped the process right along. To watch that report and get a eye-opening education on AI, get on YouTube and look this up: “The AI Dilemma – March 9, 2023” by The Center for Humane Technology It is a talk given by experts within the AI community addressing their own peers in Silicon Valley about the dangers of what’s happening with AI. When you are finished watching it, remind yourself, “Jesus is still Lord.” Don’t freak out. “Do not be alarmed,” was how Jesus himself put it (Matthew 24:6). But yes—let’s be smart. Technology is not neutral. It is something we have to exercise strong dominion over, especially in our domestic “kingdoms.” (For one thing, I would not allow your children to form a “relationship” with an AI “friend,” in Snapchat or elsewhere.) A simple act of ruling my kingdom and domain involves a regular practice of consecrating all my technology and cleansing it with the blood of Christ. Something like this… I bring all computers, tablets, cell phones, apps, television, and cable in our home under the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ. I cleanse all technology in this house with the blood of Christ, including all internet, wifi, cellular signals, all cable, and media. I command the blood of Christ and the Glory of God to filter all media, signals, and internet coming into our home, including through our cell phones. In the name of the Lord Jesus. Christians are called to operate with an awareness that our enemy is always looking for “open doors” and opportunities to access our domain to do his dark work. Just watch a horror movie and try to have a good night’s sleep. And so the aware Christian is vigilant not to allow open doors in their domain. (I remember one neighbor saying to me years ago, when video games took over their household through their teenage boys, “I feel like I let Satan in the house.” Given the dark nature of some of those games and the sudden violence between previously harmonious children, she probably did.) Set an example for your family and friends by choosing the real world over the artificial every time you can. Like an evening walk over screen time. Help your kids fall more in love with nature—and all the adventures you can have there—than they love their technology. This isn’t just for the sake of your mental and physical health. We do this to win the battle for our soul. Download the Wild at Heart May 2023 Newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Praying for Those Who Don't Believe
This is a letter on how to pray for the people you love—especially those who do not yet love Jesus or see the Truth in him. I’m moved to share this for two reasons. First, because it’s where many of my own heart-cries have been focused recently. And secondly, because the Spirit seems to be moving over the earth, and those are ripe times to pray! I’m not sure if I’ve ever told the story in these letters of how I came to meet Jesus, so let’s start there. The current movie Jesus Revolution retells the story of the last great revival, which broke out in Southern California in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. It was as a result of that move of God that Stasi and I both came to Christ! Though in different ways. We were both living in Southern California at that time, both part of the hippie thing in our own way. Stasi was in a Catholic youth study, and the Spirit moved in that little group and many gave their lives to Jesus. (Thank you, Jesus!) I came in through a different door. Unlike Stasi, I was not raised with a faith at all. Our family was a typical 1950s–1960s agnostic American home. Decent values, but no God. I became spiritually hungry in high school, but that was the time another movement was also sweeping through: the drug culture. Like Jesus Revolution portrays, many of us young people were taking acid and going to spiritual gurus to try to find the truth. And then one night Jesus simply walked into my life. Yep. I had never heard the Gospel, never read a Bible, never been to church. (Well, once, for a funeral.) But I was aching, and God was moving powerfully, thanks to that revival. The presence of Jesus simply came into the room one night, and I gave my life to him. Much like the conversion stories we are hearing out of the Islamic world—how Jesus is simply walking into people’s lives in their dreams, in waking visions and encounters. (I heard a recent story where having “met” a Muslim woman this way, Jesus also gave her the cell phone number of a priest several countries away, whom she called! He baptized her over the phone and helped her upload a Bible app so she could have God’s Word!) I share my story and hers because it increases our faith that Jesus does this—he reveals himself. And that is what I have been praying for those I love. Let me explain a little of the prayer itself. In the book of 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us that the Enemy both blinds the mind and veils the heart of the unbeliever: But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Cor. 3:14-17) Paul is referring to the Jews here, but the Enemy uses those “veils” with other people groups, too. Mine was certainly veiled. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:4-6) Here he expands the dilemma—and hope—to all unbelievers. From these passages, and my own encounter with Jesus, I have developed a very simple prayer strategy: I pray that God would remove the veils and blinders from the hearts and minds of those I am praying for, and that Jesus would simply reveal himself to them as he did to me, as he is doing for many Muslims, and as he has for millions of people down through the centuries. Like this: Merciful God, God of our salvation, I pray that your Spirit would burn away every veil and every blinder over the heart and mind of [who I’m praying for]. Let every veil and every blinder the Enemy has placed over their heart and mind be utterly removed, so that they may see the glory of God in the face of Jesus. Jesus, I pray you would reveal yourself to them, Lord. Walk into their lives. Make yourself known! May they see you, encounter you, and receive you. Let the light of God shine in their heart to give them the knowledge of God in the face of Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray! It’s an ongoing prayer, not just one-and-done. I pray this quietly, as I walk through airports and supermarkets, too! I pray it for the people I encounter and those I simply pass by. Often, Jesus will move me to “target” someone. That woman over there—pray for her heart to be unveiled. And I do. I’m sending this letter because I think the timing is important. Now, I’m not the kind of guy that jumps on bandwagons, and I am suspicious of those who do. I don’t know that revival is breaking out in a major way. Maybe. But Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 2 promise the opposite: a great falling away before Christ returns. So be careful when you hear people promising otherwise. What I do know is that the hour is late, God is merciful, and I’m praying for people's souls with passion! I know you will, too! Download the Wild at Heart Spring 2023 Newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Meet our Team
Well…2023 is out of the gates and down the track––even though my soul didn’t really get on board until late January! (Friends of ours still have their Christmas decorations up; their souls haven’t been able to make the transition yet!) Ready or not, 2023 is off and running. We’d love to “do” this year with you, whatever it brings! Meet Our Team! We thought about doing a Christmas card but opted to save this photo for this month’s letter so it wouldn't get lost in the December madness. Sometimes it’s nice to see the face behind the voice, email, or social post! (From left to right, top to botttom:) Alex, Nic, Bart, Allen, Jeff, Karen, Conrad, Brad, Jon, Stacey, Sam, Stasi, John, Polly, Morgan, Michelle, Wookie, Sue, Jamie. Not Pictured: Justin Like many people, Stasi and I have a few photos of friends, family, and missionaries we pray for posted on our fridge. We’re sending along this team picture in hopes you will do the same. Prayer and intercession are the secret to this ministry’s wildly fabulous impact. Years before we started, Jesus brought to me a story of the power of prayer in all great Christian revivals and missionary movements. So from Day One of this adventure, we have kept prayer at the epicenter of all we do. We would LOVE to have you join us as prayer partners! (I send out a weekly email on prayer to our list of “Intercessors.” You don’t need that to pray for us, but if you’d like to sign up, visit our website at www.wildatheart.org/pray.) Host a group! One of the other secrets of our global impact is the number of friends and allies hosting gatherings, sharing the message in their worlds. We just heard another story this week of a man who wanted to reach his neighbors—four guys who didn’t know Jesus. He took them through A Year with Men (one of our many curriculum offerings), and all four now love Jesus! Honestly, one of the most rewarding, exciting, and personally nourishing things you can do is get a small group going in this message! We’ve packaged some resources for you so there’s no pressure to be an amazing teacher. Check out the Wild at Heart, Captivating, and Becoming a King “Experiences” on the homepage of our website. Or do a book study together. Sometimes the best groups are where folks simply get a chance to “tell their story” and be heard. You can listen to the four-part “How to Tell Your Story” podcast series here: https://wildatheart.org/rhplay/series/podcast/how-tell-and-listen-story Catch Up on Podcasts! Speaking of podcasts, our three different offerings are really the best way to strengthen your own heart and track with us week by week. If you have the free Wild at Heart app, new episodes of all three podcasts download automatically as soon as they release. The Wild at Heart Podcast—usually hosted by me and Allen Arnold. (The “Consecrate Your Year” episode is a must if you haven't done that yet!) We’ve been running a series the past six weeks on protecting your heart through the unique pressures of this hour. It’s really good! Become Good Soil—hosted by Morgan Snyder. We call this the “deeper dive” track, devoted to becoming true disciples (apprentices) of Jesus. Morgan’s wife, Cherie, often joins him on the show. Captivated—hosted by Stasi, designed to lead women into rich intimacy with Jesus. The stories she and her guests share are so beautiful!! The Weekly Update We’ve been trying to figure out the best model to share with our friends the latest inside scoop, some of the critical things we are learning, and the things bringing us joy, so we are revamping and revitalizing the Wild at Heart Weekly Update email. I’m going to be sharing by voice and video each week things Jesus is showing us, so that you can be strengthened too! Log on to your account on our website and scroll to “My Communication Preferences.” Check the box for “Email Updates.” If you don’t have an account, you can enter your email address in the box near the bottom of our home page. One Last Thing I just had to tell you—we made our budget at year’s end for 2022! I reached out in the fall to ask for your help, and you guys came through! For 22 years, it’s been the most amazing story! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your love and support! Okay. As I say on the Pause App, “That’s good. That's enough for now.” Sending love and blessings to you, from our team, Download the Wild at Heart February 2023 newsletter here.
John Eldredge
November 2022 Newsletter
Dear Friends, Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. Psalm 107:1-3 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story. There’s nothing quite like it. I love hearing people’s stories. I especially love hearing stories about Jesus coming for them. And, I have to admit, I am brought to tears every time I hear a story of Jesus coming for some dear soul through our work. Let me share some of the beauty with you… I just wanted to express my sincere gratitude. I went through a serious ministry burnout this year and took a break from everything...but God led me to The Sacred Romance, and it was amazing to read. I'm now reading The Journey of Desire and almost crying through every page, just like with Sacred Romance. I'm receiving the healing I have ached for all my life. This note is just to say thank you for this wonderful ministry. Words are a serious handicap to express my gratitude. Receive lots and lots of love from a daughter of God in Nairobi, Kenya. I cannot thank God and all of you enough for the Pause app. It has changed my life completely. I am on my third time through 30 Days to Resilient, and I'm also writing them out, because I sometimes go to areas of no mobile coverage. I'm in outback Queensland, Australia, and don't want to miss a day. I'm 60, grew up Catholic, gave my life to Jesus at 20…but really all I was doing was trying to avoid hell. I knew nothing about a real relationship with God, and as I got older, just couldn't get close to God. I went through many painful things. I left it all to work in Central Queensland. I had the Pause app for awhile and then you updated it with 30 Days to Resilient. For the first time in my life, I know I have Jesus in my heart. I'm so in love with him, Papa, and the Holy Spirit. “I am Known, I am Wanted, I am Chosen, I am Understood, I am Deeply and Completely Loved.” This melts my heart every time, and now I know it and believe it. I have battled childhood wounds for 40 years. Chapter 5: Mother Desolation in your new book, Resilient, unlocked chains that have held me captive most of my life. Thank you for writing this book. I am so grateful for the healing that is taking place in my life. Jesus! We love you! We love to watch you rescue your beloved! Friends, stories like these are pouring into our offices every single day of the year, from all over the world. Brazil. Ukraine. Kenya. India. Something really, really special is going on. Jesus is coming for his people with such fierce love and urgency. Each and every story is breathtaking. This is what you help us do––as you carry the message forward in your world, as you pray for us and support us each year. We can’t begin to thank you enough! Think of all the stories we will hear at the Feast! We are a crowd-funded non-profit. This beautiful work takes place because a small group of friends like you have been so generous with us. When the pandemic first rolled through in 2020, we wondered if we would have to lay staff off, cut back on our global outreach. Instead, we had the biggest year of giving since our start back in 1999! We are hoping and praying for another great year in the face of serious inflation, impending recession, and economic pressure. Because God is able. I’m writing this month to ask if you would support this redemptive work with a gift to this ministry before the end of the year. If we all come together, it will happen quickly and easily. There’s no pressure at all; we know things are tight. We completely understand. We trust Jesus and we trust your story with him. What Stasi and I are going to do is simply ask, “Lord, what would you have us give this year to the mission of Wild at Heart?” If we all do that, we all get to share in the breathtaking joy! This is a partnership! So let me say “thank you” right now for whatever you are moved to do. You can send a check in the return envelope, or, you can give online at www.WildAtHeart.org or on our Wild at Heart app. Oh, THANK YOU, friends! Let’s fuel this mission to rescue every heart and soul we can! With love and gratitude, John Download the Wild at Heart November 2022 Newsletter here.
John Eldredge
December 2022
Dear Friends, A very merry Christmastide to you…wherever and whenever this letter finds you! I don’t need to say much this month; the holidays for most people are typically full enough. I do want to say, before anything else, that our entire team sends lots of love to and prayers for you and yours at this beautiful, difficult time of year! We love being your friends and comrades in this great mission to rescue and restore the human heart! Merry Christmas, everyone! That’s the heart of this letter. Now, if you’d like a few Christmas thoughts, read on… I've been thinking a lot about treasures. Obviously, because gifts have become such a central part of most Christmas observances. And there is biblical connection in the lavish gifts the Magi brought to Jesus. (What a beautiful way for the Father to prepare Joseph to fund their flight down to Egypt and sojourn there.) And above all, “Unto us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). The gift of Christmas. But maybe I’ve been thinking about treasures because I’ve been on Amazon ordering so many presents for people. (Maybe also because I love getting presents!) Treasures. The heart loves them. We were created to treasure things. If I were to offer a lifeline to you (and to myself) in this lovely Christmas season, I would simply say this: Treasure Jesus, in a fresh way, all over again. Devote this season to saying, Jesus, you are my heart’s greatest Treasure. I treasure you again, Lord. You are my greatest gift! There are so many reasons, but currently my concern has to do with comfort. These are trying times; they have been for quite awhile now. Each and every one of our souls is crying out for comfort, solace, something to help us feel better. Sometimes the soul cries out quietly, sometimes loudly. (Honestly, I was pretty sure it was a down jacket I found on sale on Cyber Monday. I felt it would make me happy. Which let me know my soul is still looking for comfort.) The enemy knows the human soul is vulnerable right now; he’s engineered nearly all our recent distress. He then steps in and offers all sorts of “comforters”––from vacation fantasies to a little too much to drink this month. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but where the soul looks for comfort ends up being where our hearts are either restored…or even further disappointments. Therefore, the most beautiful and defiant act a soul can make in a world of a thousand comforts and a thousand disappointments is to actively treasure Jesus above all things. Because as you do, you are rescued from the World and the snares of the evil one. Your soul “comes home” to God and all the care he has for you. This is how the psalmist proclaims it… I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Psalm 73:23-26 NLT If you read the prior passages, he was really upset before this moment. Finally, he turns his heart back to the One he treasures above all things. He comes home. And he is rescued. When we actively, decisively choose God as our Treasure, he becomes the strength of our hearts. It’s not that we don’t love or care about other things; it’s that we choose and keep Jesus Christ as our truest and greatest treasure above all other things. So here’s a simple spiritual practice we could all agree to share this season: Every time you encounter the topic of gifts, presents, and treasures––whether in shopping or in decorations or you are once again online trying to find someone that special something; even on Christmas morning as friends and family open gifts—in these moments, quietly say in your heart, Jesus, you are my Treasure! You are my heart’s greatest Treasure, Lord, and I treasure you above all things. I think you’ll be delighted with the results. You will have Jesus, and with him you can ride out all the highs and lows of the season and emerge in such a good place. Your heart will rest at home in Christ and be so well in him. I promise. So Merry Christmas, friends! With so much love, John (and Stasi, and our whole team!) Download the Wild at Heart December Newsletter here.
John Eldredge
Beauty. Hope. Triumph.
I’m guessing that the biggest issue facing you right now is not what present to get someone for Christmas or how many different kinds of cookies to bake. There are larger forces at play in each of our lives. From conversations I am having with friends and family detailing the sorrows in their lives, I know that each one of us or someone close to us is living in their own painful situation. We need more than a little Christmas, right this very minute. We need Jesus. We hear the cry of the Psalmist, “Come let us worship and bow down – let us kneel before the Lord our God our maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture.” The invitation is to come. Not to wait to come until it’s more convenient or feels more natural or is easier to do but to come now. Come in the midst of the heartache and the need. Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” His invitation is to find rest in the midst of the busy, the full, the requirements, the demands, the depths, the sorrow, and the pace. We rest in his Presence. We rest when we behold him. Sometimes it takes hardship to turn our gaze to our King, doesn’t it? Some of our most intimate times of encountering him are when we are on the floor sobbing out our desperate need. Sometimes, it is pain that is as CS Lewis says, God’s megaphone to the world. “Come to me”, he calls. When my mom had only a few weeks left to live – she wrote that her unexpected diagnosis had been the most precious gift that God had ever given her. It had driven her to his feet and there she had found him to be more than enough, higher than her desires, and more compelling than life itself. Beauty. Hope. Triumph. When my friend who many of you knew, Craig McConnell was in the hospital or at home battling leukemia, wracked with pain, he spent his time worshipping God and praying for others. I am one of the happy recipients of those life altering prayers. Prayers groaned out with purified holy longing. And that worship? Beauty. Hope. Triumph. Oh to worship God in the midst of pain, sorrow, and heartache. How do we do that? Well, Jesus compels us. When push comes to shove, nothing else and no one else will do. But we have to look at him when we are not in crisis so that we know where to look when we are in order to find and know life. School children practice fire drills and now – horribly – active shooter drills. You need the muscle memory. You practice martial arts with the hope to never have to use it in a real-life situation. You learn self-defense so that you are ready for what you pray will never come. You practice CPR. You teach your children to dial 911 in case of an emergency. You train. We train our hearts as well. How? By turning our attention to Jesus. By fixing our gaze on our King. By looking into his beautiful face. By remembering who He is and by having him reveal more of who he truly is to us! Because, who is he? He is the one who saved us and is saving us. He is the one who has healed us and is healing us. He has come for us and he is coming still and he will never stop. He is the one who, moved by love, laid down his glory and in unmatched humility took on our humanity forever to live, to die, to rise again that we might be saved. He is the one who is faithful. He is the one who will never abandon us. He is the one who is working all things together for our good. He is the one who finishes the work that he has begun in us. Song of Songs 5:16 says that “He is desirable in EVERY way.” Other versions translate the words to – “He is altogether desirable.” or “He is wholly lovely (desirable).” King James says, “he is all together lovely.” Lovely means able to excite desire or love. May this Christmas season be a time where we turn our gaze to Jesus that he might reveal more of who he truly is to each one of us, exciting our love and refueling our hope. May he capture our hearts, yet again.
Stasi Eldredge
Listening Prayer
Many years ago, someone shared this quote with me, and it stayed with me because it names something so deeply true to the human predicament: “The way through the world is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.” – Wallace Stevens Right? Whatever our age, education, or financial status, we all face questions we simply don’t know the answer to, every single day. Not theoretical questions—questions essential to our life and wellbeing, or the life and wellbeing of those we love. God rigged the world like this so that we would seek him. Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?” The Lord answered him, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.” So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them... Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees...So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:18-25) David inquired. The Lord answered. Folks—the entire Bible, Genesis to Revelation, is a record of God speaking to his people. Hearing his voice is meant to be normal for every follower of Jesus. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) “I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” (Revelation 3:20) Our practical, daily experience is meant to be centered in a conversational intimacy with God—with our Father, with Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit. God rigged the world so that we really can’t thrive without this. However, most people wait until the house is on fire to ask God about something specific. Is this the person you want me to marry? Is it time to quit my job? What am I supposed to do with my life? That’s like going to the top of a double black diamond on your very first day of skiing because you want to learn how to ski. It’s unrealistic. You can’t start there. Hearing the voice of God—and having confidence in what you have heard—requires a quiet and relaxed posture of the soul. Far better to approach it like this... Clear a little quiet space, because the soul needs to be in a quiet place to hear from God. At least initially. Go into your room or out into the yard; sit on the back porch and give yourself twenty minutes. Don’t rush this. Sit down and take a few deep breaths. Then pray, Holy Spirit, I need your help. I really want to hear from you, God. Holy Spirit, come and help me. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear. Take away the distractions, Lord. Take away the pressure. Dial me in. Dial me in, Lord. Then ask a really simple question, something without a lot of drama to it. Jesus—should I join those guys on the camping trip this weekend? Is that what you have for me? Pause. Linger in silence and listen. If I’m not hearing anything clearly, sometimes I will “try on” Yes and No. Are you saying yes, Lord? Yes, you want me to go camping? Sometimes then I will hear a clear yes. Are you saying no, Lord? This isn’t a good idea this weekend? I’m really open to whatever you are saying. Is this a no, Jesus? Linger and listen. If you’re having a hard time recognizing God’s voice, get someone to listen with you. It’s far easier to hear for someone else than to hear for yourself. The reason is simple: you’re not tied up in all the drama. You don’t have a horse in the race; you don’t have a dog in the fight. And so this is a good way to learn. As we learn to hear God’s voice, it also helps to give it time. Pressure kills just about everything—love, joy, friendship, hearing from God. So give it some time. If I don’t hear anything right away, I’ll say something like, Keep speaking, Lord. Give me the ability to recognize what you are saying. I’m going to give this a few days (or a few weeks). Keep speaking, Father. Why am I bringing this up? Because the way through this world is far more difficult to find than the way beyond it. And yet, even so, most people don’t practice asking God into the details of their lives and questions. It’s madness. Some of you are comfortable with listening prayer, but you haven’t made it part of your daily practices. Maybe it’s time. If this is a new concept for you, my book Walking with God would be a great resource. For others, this is something new. What an exciting road ahead for you! Begin to practice what I’ve suggested above; take some time to learn how to hear God’s voice! Oh, friends, it is rescue, a joy; it is protection, and it is irreplaceable. For as Scripture says, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God.” (Romans 8:14) Offered as something of a loving reminder and a strong bit of counsel. Love, John P.S. Try it right now. Pause before you go on. Get quiet and simply ask Jesus, What are you saying to me today, Lord? Give it a few moments. Listen. Download the Wild at Heart Summer September 2022 Newsletter.
John Eldredge
Missing Nothing
I find it interesting to be in the last quarter of my life…at least if you divide a lifetime by 20 year increments. As I approach my 63rd birthday, I sometimes catch myself in my dreaming. I want to partner with God in so many ways bringing his beautiful Kingdom to hearts that don’t know him yet. I’d like to live in Ireland for at least three months – maybe years. Currently, I’d like to travel to about 15 other countries some of which to stay in for many months. And…I want to be home and go to every single dance performance, soccer game, school show and whatever else my grandchildren are involved in. I want to have tea parties and pool days and play dates. I want to host worship gatherings in my home. I want my garden to finally flourish with constant care. I want to pour into the people God has placed in my life particularly my children and grandchildren but so many others too. Well then, I can’t be traveling as much as I’d like. There are some experiences I want to have, places I want to go, people I’d like to meet in person that I simply won’t be able to. Choices need to be made. They always do. In what I see as shrinking parameters around my life, around my time, I know a God for whom nothing is impossible and whose dreams for me extend way beyond my limited imagination. I can’t wait to see what he has in mind in this quarter! I also know that this life – glorious and messy and breathtaking and holy and heartbreaking and honing – is not the end of the Story. Real life, true life, glorious LIFE will begin once I cross through the doorway that we all will one day walk through though we have no idea when. And then….the places I will go, the adventures I will have, the people I will share with and know in ways I only long for now, the God I will have intimate face to face communion with ALWAYS, well…let’s just say, it’s enough to make limitations on this life pale. And everything else that’s difficult in this life…pale. It's coming. Oh the joys I will experience, the garden I will create, the experiences I will get to share, the depths to which I will know and be known without shame, the exquisite bliss that awaits of being in the Presence of our glorious King worshipping with all in unbridled, immeasurable, endless awe. I can’t wait. But I will wait. And press in with every day I have left to draw closer to our God’s magnificent heart. Yes, as I get older, there are increasing limits to my time and my capabilities, but friends, I will miss nothing. I don’t know what you’d like to do. It might be to move without pain. It might be to hold the one who left too soon once again in your arms. It might be to have someone to hold at all. Maybe it’s to travel. Maybe it’s to not hurt so much, to struggle so much or to not be so lonely. Maybe it’s to share the Gospel with as many people as you possibly can. Perhaps it’s to experience God in ways you’ve only heard of. Whatever it is, dear ones, it’s coming. In the end that really is not an end at all but a grand beginning, you will miss nothing.
Stasi Eldredge