A Spiritual Heart Attack

For those of you who don't know me, five years ago God led our family to Eastern Kentucky on a journey with Him to minister to the needs of kids and families in a small coal mining town in the Appalachians.  While it has been very rewarding seeing God do amazing things within the people of this community, it hasn't been without trials and difficulties both personal and in ministry. 

This past week, I listened to a pastor speak on "Enlarging Our Hearts."  He was referring to the fact that as Christians we need to train ourselves for kingdom work by making room in our hearts for the brokenhearted and those in need.  We need to empty our hearts of things that cause us to lose focus and distract us from the will of God.  Our purpose as Christians should be about the things on God's heart, which is His people.  This got me thinking about our journey and how my heart has had to go through a metamorphasis of enlarging.  It reminds me of the movie "The Grinch."  The Grinch had no room in his heart for anyone but himself.  In order for him to accept the Who's and care about their needs, his heart had to enlarge in size.  Now we all know our heart can't physically expand, but in order for my heart to enlarge it's capacity, I've had to endure many spiritual heart attacks.  Those times where my arteries have been so clogged with my own struggles, my own self-centeredness, caught up in trying to do so much that I have strangled out the the oxygen-rich blood (Holy Spirit) that nourishes me and guides me and keeps me focused on why God sent us on this journey.  Have you ever done that?  Have you ever restricted the Holy Spirit to flow through you?  It affects evrything else.  You become physically drained.  Your emotions get out of whack.  Everything is off balance.   When we become so engrossed in our own struggles and get caught up in trying to do everything on our own, we starve our heart muscle of oxygen (Holy Spirit) and run the risk of spiritual death.

This time last year, my dad had triple by-pass heart surgery.  It was a very scary time for our family.  We had to stand by and watch as the one we love so much endured a painful and defenseless circumstance.  He had to have surgery or he would risk eventually having a major heart attack and possibly die. (That is something I don't want to think about.)  But he had to surrender his physical body over to the doctor who specialized in this procedure.  My dad could not fix this problem on his own.  There was nothing he could have done that would have healed his body.  He had to trust the doctor's expertise.  After the surgery there were certain things my dad had to do in order for his body to heal and things he had to change in order to stay healthy.  All of which were uncomfortable and hard to get used to.  But very necessary! 

Isn't that the way it is with us spiritually.  When we have a spiritual heart attack, don't we need to surrender our hearts to the Great Physician so He can change us and mend us.  So many times, I've tried to fix my own problems, I've tried to mend my own broken heart only to find that the pain just gets bigger and my life tends to spin out of control.  Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28-29   Oh, what words of comfort! 

In order to heal a spiritual heart attack, in other words, to heal our hearts when we are struggling, we need to surrender ourselves and rest in the arms of our Heavenly Father.  To stay spiritually healthy, to keep us tuned in to God's will, we need to meditate on His Word and focus our eyes on Him.  We also need to LISTEN to Him and then OBEY Him. It is so easy to get caught up in the stress of everyday life, with relationships, jobs, school, and many other things.  But in order to keep us from having a spiritual heart attack, in order to enlarge our hearts to pursue the things on God's heart, we need to recognize the things that drain us spiritually, emotionally, and physically and be able to let go of them.  In Matthew 12:34b Jesus says, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."  Are you living in such a way that your heart is beating with God's heart?  Or is it out of rythmn and restricted until you can't hear or feel the heartbeat of God?  Are you truly listening to the Only One who has all the answers?  Or are you running around trying to figure things out on your own, feeling the pressure of your heart about to explode?

  

I want to encourage you. Ask yourself the questions above and determine through the leading of the Holy Spirit if you need spiritual heart surgery so the life blood can freely flow through, fill up your heart and enlarge it so you can experience all God has in store.  We need to make room in our heart to be a blessing to others.  It's important to be able to recognize the needs of those around us and then engage by meeting that need.  But the only way to do that is to keep our heart healthy.  Keep a healthy diet by reading God's Word and praying.  Understand life is hard and we need help, the help that can only come from our Heavenly Father. 

We all must do a spiritual heart check-up regularly to make sure there are no obstacles in the way, so our heart beat can keep in rythmn with God's heart beat.

His Humble Servant,

Angie Burkeen
Club 180 Ministry
503 Main Street
Cumberland, KY  40823
http://www.club180ministry.com/
http://www.estherscloset.org/