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Is Your Heart Sick?
When we speak of physical strength and overall conditioning, a fair amount of attention is given to the strengthening the core - the abdominal area of your body. This region houses many of the vital organs of your body - and serves as the physical power center of your body.
When we speak of spiritual strength - our motivations, desires and hopes - attention needs to be given to the "heart." The heart is the center of our thoughts and emotions. The strength and resolve of our heart determines how well we can proceed into the future. It colors our perceptions and determines our fortitude.
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick ..." (Proverbs 13:12) If you have ever set your hope on something, yet not received it in what you consider to be a reasonable time-frame, you know what this proverb means. It can make you emotionally sick in your soul. It can even cause physical sickness. In our culture, and in much of our Christian culture, we believe that we should get what we want - that we should not take "No" for an answer - and that if we believe and persist we will always receive. For some, this defines their practical faith. However, in Hebrews 11 we see that many of the champions of our faith didn't ever receive what they were hoping for in this life. So, real faith must be more than a means to getting what we want.
Do you think the men and women of Hebrews 11 were ever heartsick over their inability to realize answers to their hopes and prayers? I would assume so, for they were just like us. Yet, somehow they learned to press through their heartsickness - and continued to live in faith and hope.
If you have some deferred hope heart sickness, either related to unresolved promises or hopes from your past or live issues in the present, consider intentionally raising your eyes to God today. King David's hopes were dashed and deferred on a number of occasions, yet he wrote:
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation.
He is my fortress, I will not be shaken." (Psalm62:5-6)
Make sure that your deepest hope is in your relationship with the Lord, not in Him doing what you think He should. As God loves you for who you are - not based on what you can do for Him, can you love Him for who He is?
Wait on the Lord. It is good to have hopes and desires for the future, but we must learn to wait for His timing. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done ..."- that is our prayer. It is His Kingdom and His will, in His timing that we are after. Allow Him to rule - enjoy His rule; allow your heart to heal.
Setting my heart on God with you,
Pastor Tom
tgriffith@rolcboston.org
When we speak of spiritual strength - our motivations, desires and hopes - attention needs to be given to the "heart." The heart is the center of our thoughts and emotions. The strength and resolve of our heart determines how well we can proceed into the future. It colors our perceptions and determines our fortitude.
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick ..." (Proverbs 13:12) If you have ever set your hope on something, yet not received it in what you consider to be a reasonable time-frame, you know what this proverb means. It can make you emotionally sick in your soul. It can even cause physical sickness. In our culture, and in much of our Christian culture, we believe that we should get what we want - that we should not take "No" for an answer - and that if we believe and persist we will always receive. For some, this defines their practical faith. However, in Hebrews 11 we see that many of the champions of our faith didn't ever receive what they were hoping for in this life. So, real faith must be more than a means to getting what we want.
Do you think the men and women of Hebrews 11 were ever heartsick over their inability to realize answers to their hopes and prayers? I would assume so, for they were just like us. Yet, somehow they learned to press through their heartsickness - and continued to live in faith and hope.
If you have some deferred hope heart sickness, either related to unresolved promises or hopes from your past or live issues in the present, consider intentionally raising your eyes to God today. King David's hopes were dashed and deferred on a number of occasions, yet he wrote:
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation.
He is my fortress, I will not be shaken." (Psalm62:5-6)
Make sure that your deepest hope is in your relationship with the Lord, not in Him doing what you think He should. As God loves you for who you are - not based on what you can do for Him, can you love Him for who He is?
Wait on the Lord. It is good to have hopes and desires for the future, but we must learn to wait for His timing. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done ..."- that is our prayer. It is His Kingdom and His will, in His timing that we are after. Allow Him to rule - enjoy His rule; allow your heart to heal.
Setting my heart on God with you,
Pastor Tom
tgriffith@rolcboston.org
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