January 31, 2023 — The Heart Monitor

“I was talking with a neighbor the other day,” I commented to Stan one morning, “to check on him after he had some medical work done on his heart.”

“What kind of medical work?” Stan asked.

“He had a pacemaker put in a few months ago,” I replied, “I don’t understand what was involved with that, how it works, and that sort of stuff, but it seems that his heart was beating too slowly and the heart’s rhythm wasn’t quite right. The pacemaker is supposed to help.”

“Is it helping?” Stan asked.

“It seems to be doing what it’s supposed to do in regulating how fast his heart beats,” I said, “but there’s still the issue of keeping the heart in rhythm. The doctor is still working on that by keeping track of what his heart is doing.”

“How does the doctor do that?”

“Some amazing technology,” I replied. “Again, I have no idea how it does it, but the pacemaker keeps track of what the heart is doing all day long. At night, when my neighbor is sleeping, the pacemaker offloads the data to a monitor next to his bed. In turn, the monitor uploads the data to a computer somewhere that sends the information to the doctor. Then the doctor can look at the data, see what’s going on with the guy’s heart, and make adjustments that may be necessary.”

“That sounds like what God tells us to do,” Stan replied with a smile.

“What God tells us to do? In what way?”

“First of all,” he replied, “there’s a verse in the Book of Proverbs that tells us to watch over our hearts with all diligence.”

“Watch over our hearts,” I said. “That sounds kind of like ‘monitoring’.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Stan replied. “And then there are the things that Jesus talked about concerning what flows out of our hearts.”

“What’s that?”

“Just for example,” Stan replied, “there’s what He said in Luke’s gospel about bringing forth the good treasure that’s in a good man’s heart.”

“I guess that would mean that people can’t bring forth good treasure from their hearts unless there’s good treasure to bring forth.”

“Good guess!” Stan replied with a laugh. “That’s why it’s real important to monitor what’s going on with our hearts. Your neighbor has a physical device for his physical heart. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit to monitor our spiritual hearts, but we need to listen to what He’s telling us.”

“Examine the data,” I said, “and make the necessary adjustments!”

__________________________________

Bible verses to consider:

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23.

The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. Luke 6:45.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, that you sent Jesus into the world to change hearts so that all who believe in Him can know they will spend eternity in your presence when it’s time. Thank you for those who brought me to that truth so I could accept it. Thank you, too, for the presence of the Holy Spirit who monitors my heart to keep it right with you. I confess that too often I don’t listen to what He is saying and I don’t make the necessary adjustments in my life to be who and what you intend. Please forgive the foolishness of that. Help me to follow every step of your lead as you monitor my heart and tell me what you have for my ever-deepening walk with you. Thank you that I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Think on this: Have you had your heart changed in the sense you have accepted God’s provision of life eternally with Him through the cross of Christ? If no, what’s in the way of claiming His free and gracious provision? If you are a Christian with the assurance of salvation and redemption, how are doing with the Holy Spirit’s monitoring of your heart? Are you looking at the “data” and making the necessary adjustments so your faith walk is what God intends for you? If you sense the need for change, how is that going to happen? Is that what you want? Why or why not?