Now is the time.... To Check Your Heart

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

In June my niece gave birth to her second child, a good sized little girl. At the time she had not been feeling well for some time but put it down to the pregnancy, she was wrong. Two weeks after the birth she found herself in hospital having a battery of tests and 3 days later she had open heart surgery. When the surgeon spoke to us after the very long operation he said that Tracey’s heart had been “an ugly mess”. Life threatening infection had entered into her heart and had eaten away at her aortic valve which had to be replaced.

The surgeon, fortunately, was able to save her life, but it was a very dangerous situation. After many hours sitting at her bedside, my sister and I were very relieved to watch her begin to progress back to health and now, 3 months later, she is doing really well. However, Tracey now requires a lifetime on medication to ensure that her blood doesn’t form clots and her heart continues to function properly.

As I thought about this it made me think of the health of our spiritual hearts – the part of us that is influenced by God’s Spirit. God has offered us a ‘heart replacement’ – a soft heart in exchange for a heart that has become hard from sinful attitudes which lead to sinful actions. When we accept that new heart, it still needs to be maintained with spiritual ‘medication’. Reading and obeying the word of God regularly keeps us on track. Also asking God’s forgiveness when we revert to our old ways. This, together with regular fellowship with other believers, worship and prayer are all needed to help us live a truly healthy life which will give us peace and make us a blessing to those around us. Nothing clogging up our system.

Why not do a quick heart check up and see if there is any hardness sneaking in. Are you grateful for what you have? Are you open to God’s leading and correction? Is there any unforgiveness lurking that will prevent the blessing of God from resting on you? Are you allowing God to lead and direct you in your daily life or do you only involve him in the ‘big decisions’?

Remember that abiding in the vine (John 15) is the safest way to maintain a healthy spiritual life for apart from Jesus we can do nothing. He is our very life, for ‘in him we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28). A good relationship with him is the key to our heart health.

Prayer: Lord, search my heart and see if there is any sinful way in me. Forgive me and cleanse me and lead me in the ways that please you. Amen