Divine Cardiology (Part 2) Don't Lose Heart

About a year ago I had a phone conversation with an old high school friend who happens to be a physician. She had told me about a book she was reading called "Waking the Dead" by John Eldridge. She highly recommended that I read. I finally picked up a copy at the book store a few weeks later, but not being much of a reader I never made it past the 40th page.

The night before we left Kigali Naomi and I were chatting in room when somehow that book made it into our conversation. Ironically I had packed the book in my carry on while in Seattle but I hadn't cracked it the entire trip. Now I had to read that book! I am glad that I did...

It must say that I found it quite thought provoking. There were a few things that "made me go hmm," but overall what I got from it was worth the "hmm."

In the first chapter of the book the author makes this quote by St. Irenaeous; "God's glory is man's heart fully alive." He goes on to make the point that once we have made a confession to follow Christ, we have a "circumcised" heart. The evil is stripped away and we have a new heart, a good heart. God in fact loves our heart so much that He died for it. He wants our hearts to be "alive" and healthy. God's desire is for us to live in wholeness a victorious life. Wow, God loves my heart because He made it good? God thinks my heart is worth fighting for? That's quite a powerful concept if it is indeed true.

The author then discusses the idea of spiritual warfare. If our hearts have been made "good" (I think this the idea of sanctification for all you AF folks out there) then of course the Devil is going to target you. We need to be able to prepared and equipped to fight for our own hearts and our relationship with our Lord. Because He has made me in His image and has redeemed my heart I do not need to go life ashamed and bound to the thought that no matter what I do I'm going to mess it up. After all, in my weakness He is made strong.

Don't lose heart because you'll miss it when it's gone! You're heart really is something worth fighting for.