A Life in Exile

I’ve had the heart on my mind a lot lately, as two dear friends both faced open-heart surgery in the last month. One was scheduled in advance, as tests had been run and the need was evident. The other was of the emergency variety and unexpected by the patient, family, and friends. In both cases, visits, texts, and calls went out among those who cared, and prayers were lifted up in person and in the privacy of hearts and homes.

Heart doctors.

It takes a special kind of surgeon to operate on a person’s heart. It’s not the kind of body part one can do without. It’s crucial, and we depend on it to function and beat in order for us to stay alive. The body cannot compensate for the lack of a heart. It’s like taking the engine out of a car—without it, the rest heads to the junkyard.

As I visited with my friend who is home and recovering from her surgery, I realized just how quickly a life can change. Her goal for that day—to get up and walk for ten minutes each hour. Wow. Think about it. A person is going and busy and active one minute, and the next, she’s just hoping she can walk to the kitchen and back. During my visit, she didn’t make it ten minutes.

I wonder if cardiologists realize how much they are remembered in prayer. I certainly prayed for the surgeons and medical staff taking care of my friends during their hospital stays. I’m grateful for those who have studied the heart and specialize in providing care for those suffering from heart troubles.

The other heart.

At the same time that I was hearing about my friends having heart attacks and facing surgery, I had a call from one facing another kind of heart trouble. When hit with devastating news, the heart aches. I cannot count the times I have encouraged a friend to “guard their heart.” This comes from the wisdom found in the book of Proverbs.

My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:20-23 NIV)

I love the instructions Solomon gives his son and us. It’s in keeping God’s word of wisdom hidden in our hearts that we can remain strong to face the trials that will inevitably come our way. God’s Word in our hearts adds health to our whole body. Our spiritual heart—our soul—is central to that protection, for as the psalmist writes: “everything you do flows from it.” Or, as Proverbs 27:19 says, “the heart reflects the person.”

The heart doctor.

Just as a physical heart attack threatens our life, so too does an attack on our emotional, intellectual, and personal life threaten our spiritual heart and well-being. In that moment when we feel we cannot go on, there is a doctor who is ready and available to treat us at our point of need. This doesn’t mean the circumstances surrounding the pain are resolved, but our heart finds healing and strength through the comfort and peace only God can provide.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help. The face of the Lord is set against those who do what is evil, to remove all memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:15-18)

Though our pain may feel too much to bear, God reminds us that he has made a way through the valley of the shadow of death by allowing his only Son to bear the ultimate pain—the pain of our sin—so that we might find hope, light, and rescue in our brokenness and hurt. He can mend our broken hearts when we lean into him and keep his Word in our hearts. We may only be able to turn to him today for ten minutes, but tomorrow it will be for twenty minutes, and the day will come when we can smile again and see beauty grow from the ashes. This is what Christ Jesus provides.

The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him. (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Out of the ashes of heartbreak, a righteous tree grows to glorify God. If you’re experiencing physical or spiritual heartache today, I pray you will turn toward God and let him pour the sweet balm of his Word on your soul to his glory.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Wednesday Wisdom, click HERE, or check out these other posts on trials in life: Singing in Prison, Hanging by a Thread, When Faith Hits the Fan, Embrace Suffering, and Trust in the Beloved.