Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
Have you ever spent time in a doctor’s office reading the pamphlets or posters on the wall? There are 3 pointers that are basic to a healthy heart: Get plenty of rest, eat properly, and exercise daily. Is it any surprise that a healthy spiritual heart requires the same three elements?
Get Plenty of Rest: The title of Mark Buchanan’s book, The Rest of God, is a play on words. As we learn to rest (or trust) in God, we learn that there is so much more to learn about God. Rest is more than taking an afternoon snooze or watching a movie, but it is the purposeful exercise to be quiet before God, allowing him to speak to us, observing His work in our lives and the world around us. Some call this Sabbath, but it’s just plain smart practice for our spiritual health.
Eat the Right Foods: There was an old saying when computers first came out: GIGO, or garbage in, garbage out. Simply stated, what you put into the CPU it spits out. It’s not a mystery that people who spend time reading God’s Word and study it with others (small group or at church) grow in their walk with the Lord. Far too many people try to live on spiritual junk food and wonder why they have no power or energy when it comes to the challenges of life.
Exercise Daily: Spiritual exercise means serving others and putting into practice that which we’ve learned. We can eat the right food, but if there is too much of it, we become blimps. There’s a need to put what we learn into practice in our daily lives, affecting how we treat others around us.
What are the benefits of having a healthy heart? Verses 24-27 gives us three hints, as the passages speak of our words, our eyes, and our feet. The consequences of a health heart affect the temptations of life. I need to take some time to contemplate my spiritual heart health and to pray the words of Psalm 139:23-24:
Search me O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
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