Living in a Covid-19 World: Day #4

Heart Health in a Coronavirus World

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

The last thing that I want to have happen to me during this time of pandemic is to need to go into the hospital for an emergency surgery, or testing, or anything like that. It makes sense, therefore, to make sure that we take care of our physical and mental health. Much like pre-Covid19 times, there are three things that we need to observe to give ourselves a fighting chance for a healthy heart: Get plenty of rest, eat properly, and exercise daily.

Is it any surprise that a healthy spiritual heart requires the three same elements? Taking care of our heart takes care of all other elements of our lives.

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. In our Covid-19 world we are encouraged to stay at home, giving us a chance to experience the gift of rest.

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. In our current situation we need to not give into the temptation to live on spiritual junk food, but rather focus on those things that will feed our souls.

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 into practice daily exercise, not only getting out and going for a walk, but serving others and putting our God-given gifts into use in the ways and means permitted within the context of social and physical distancing.

What are the benefits of having a healthy heart? Proverbs 4:24-27 gives us three hints, as the passages speak of our words, our eyes, and our feet. The consequences of a healthy heart affect the temptations of life. Take some time to contemplate on your spiritual heart health today and 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.