Healing

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Myocardial Infarction is not a fancy theological term. It is a fancy medical term that is very familiar to me. Twenty-two years ago, my father died from one. A couple weeks ago, my mother died from one. Chances are I’m in line for one. Most of us know the more common term: heart attack.
During a heart attack, part of this essential muscle dies. In a sense, you might say the heart is broken. People often die from heart attacks; but even if they live, the heart doesn’t function properly. People who have had heart surgery rarely regain full physical vigor.
These principles also apply in the spiritual realm. Just as the heart is the sustainer of life in the body, so the “heart” is the center of life in the spirit. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (NKJV). Jesus con-curred: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewd-ness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly” (Mark 7:20-22). In other words, a man’s heart condition determines his lifestyle.
We probably all know what it means to have a “broken heart.” When we say someone has broken our heart, we don’t mean that he or she clogged up our arteries with plaque; we mean that person injured us emotionally. And, just as with physical heart attacks, the damage can last forever.
We were told by my mother’s doctors that her heart was so badly damaged that, even if she did recover, she could never return to a normal life. They also tried for days to balance her system so she could be stabilized, but it didn’t work. When they tried to fix one organ, another one suffered. There was too much damage.
Sometimes the heart attack is triggered by our own actions. We don’t exercise, we consume foods and substances that are bad for us, or we take risks. We can do the same with our spiritual heart. The proverb quoted above instructs us to guard our heart. We cannot leave it alone and not care for it. We need to exercise it, keep harmful substances out of our life, and not take unnecessary spiritual risks.
How can we exercise our spiritual heart? Paul gives us two routines: “Exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:7, 8), and “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act ac-cording to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12, 13). His prescrip-tion for a healthy heart is to strive for godliness by humbly and reverently seeking God’s will and allowing Him to live it out through us.
We also need to make sure we don’t fill up on things that don’t build us up. Paul reminds us, “‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive” (1 Corinthians 10:23). Many pleasures and practices may taste good and not be sinful, but not everything is spiritually healthful.
We also need to avoid unnecessary spiritual risks. We are often tempted to see how close we can get to sin without being bitten. King David, who knew the sting of letting his lust for Bathsheba nearly destroy his life, said, “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes” (Psalm 101:2, 3). When Jesus was tempted to leap off the temple wall in a fantastic display of spiritual bravado, he replied, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” (Matthew 4:7).
A broken heart, whether physical or spiritual, can cripple a person. Whether the damage is self-inflicted or imposed from out-side, recuperation can be slow, and the pain lingering. Either way, recovery is possible. There is a capable physician on call.
“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18, NKJV). Here are the Great Physician’s credentials:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Isaiah 61:1, 2).
If you are suffering from spiritual and emotional myocardial infarction, there is waiting One Who can prescribe a rehabilitation regimen that can restore strength and hope to your spiritual heart. Next week we’ll examine that regimen (Title: Intensive Care).

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