Wild at Heart a 6-Day Guide to Recover Your Masculine Heart by John EldredgeSample

Day 4

The Battle

What does it look like to live from our deep masculine hearts in the realm of battle?

God, who is a great warrior, created man in His image. God set within us a warrior heart because He has created us to join Him in His war against evil. If we’re going to find our part in God’s story, if we’re going to be the men that He made us to be, we have got to get that part of our heart back. 

We want to be the he, but something happens in the story of boy to man. The wounds come. The poser is created. On top of that, the world we live in emasculates men. What we are left with is a world of "really nice guys". 

Let’s go back to the movies we love. Regardless of the movie, the hero always has to engage in a battle of some kind. Why? Because they all have a villain—from Darth Vader and Sauron to  Longshanks and Commodus. 

Why does every story have a villain? Because ours does.

In Scripture, we are told: "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV)

We have been born into a world at war, and we have a role to play in this unfolding story. 

A man needs a battle to fight; he needs a place for the warrior in him to come alive and be honed, trained, and seasoned. If we can reawaken that fierce quality in a man, hook it up to a higher purpose, release the warrior within, then the boy can grow up and become truly masculine.

Every man is a warrior, yet every man must choose to fight. The warrior is not the only role a man must play; there are others we will explore in later readings. The warrior is crucial in our movement towards any masculine integrity; it is hardwired into every man.

The recovery of your warrior heart is absolutely essential.