I finally did it. I joined a gym. Now I actually need to start going. I opted to find my way around the gym without the help of a trainer. There are lots of buttons and gadgets that I'm starting to get the hang of, and one of my favorites is the elliptical machine. If you choose to grip the handle bars, it somehow is able to tell you your heart rate and if you should slow down and take it easy. I just find that amazing.
Wouldn't it be nice if there were a similar gadget to tell us our spiritual heart health? Prov. 4:23 tells us, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life". Sounds serious to me.
Our spiritual heart effects us more than we realize. Life flows out of our heart to others and unfortunately death can flow as well.
There have been days where I stopped and realized that I felt "dead" inside. Another way to describe it would be "hard". I had only to dig a little deeper to discover that somewhere along the way, my heart was violated and I had made a decision to harden my heart or shut down the flow of life through unforgiveness or bitterness.
Our enemy loves to entice us to fall into his web of offense and the result is a hardened heart that is unable to feel and experience the life flow of God's love.
Fortunately, as believers we have the wonderful Holy Spirit living inside of us. He is, in some ways, like the sensitive handle bars on the elliptical bike, constantly giving us feedback to steer us away from harmful actions or ways of thinking. He gives us information on our heart health, and for ears that will listen, directions to avoid the pitfalls that shut down the flow of life to and from our heart.
If you've ever been ensnared by unforgiveness, then you know that it can become much worse than the actual offense itself. Learning to guard your heart before ever allowing the unforgiveness to take hold is a key to walking in freedom. We must learn to value a healthy heart and a heart in which life can flow, more than we value being right or being justified when we have been wronged.
The dictionary defines a wellspring as "a source of abundant and continual supply". Our heart was created to be a source of abundant and continual supply of the life that flows from the heart of God. This life flow is worth protecting.
If you feel that you are trapped in a web of bitterness or unforgiveness, take a moment and cry out to God. Humble yourself and repent for allowing unforgiveness to enter your heart. Ask Him to cleanse you and make you clean again. Then open up your heart to receive the life flow from His heart to yours.
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
