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Authors: Casey Treat
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Spiritual Heart Attacks
One of the most common causes of death in America is heart disease. Because of poor health, poor eating and exercising habits, and the inability to handle the stresses of life, people’s physical hearts become weak and sick. It’s one of the biggest killers as this disease causes heart blockages, malfunctions, and attacks.
This is true in the spiritual realm, too: what I call spiritual heart disease, or SHD. Because of poor spiritual habits, avoidance of internal issues and stressors, and a tendency to harbor grudges rather than forgive, many Christians today suffer from SHD. It manifests in many different forms: negative-heart disease, small-heart disease, fearful-heart disease, brokenheart disease, and the result is a spiritual heart attack. SHD is one of the biggest killers of faith in the Body of Christ and is responsible for keeping us from the careers, the marriages and families, the incomes, and the opportunities God has designed for us. This should not be so! We have the life and the power of God residing within us; we should be experiencing—and exemplifying—the true joy and peace a whole and healthy heart provides.
Jesus wants our hearts to be completely healed and made whole; it is the very next thing He is concerned about after salvation.
In Luke 4:18, Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted.” Jesus wants our hearts to be completely healed and made whole; it is the very next thing He is concerned about after salvation. He knows when you have a whole heart you will see purpose, destiny, opportunity, and increase and will be able to live a life that impacts your world. If you have a whole heart, you seek after the things of God, you are ready to embrace the blessings of God, and out of that heart, you are able to bring forth God’s plans and purposes for your life. On the other hand, a weak and wounded heart will only be able to bring forth a weak and wounded life.
Jesus talks again about the condition of our hearts in Matthew 15. The scribes and Pharisees were very religious people, walking around with closed and embittered hearts. They weren’t looking for what God had for them (or that God was standing right before them); they were looking to protect their turf. They weren’t thinking about how they could grow spiritually; they were seeking for ways to defend their position and authority. In verse 2, they confront Jesus and ask Him why His disciples aren’t following the proper traditions of washing their hands before eating their bread.
In the next few verses, Jesus begins to address their attitudes and their defensive ways of thinking. Finally, in verses 16-20, He says, “Are you still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adultery, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
Jesus was trying to get these men to understand that God does not care about tradition, religion, diet, or most of anything else the Jewish leaders of that time were focused upon. All of these things only serve to distract us from the real issues of the Kingdom of God. If the enemy can get us sidetracked by worrying about image, or about the way our denomination says Christianity should be done, or by judging anyone who is different from us, then we will forget about the condition of our hearts. Satan knows our hearts will decide our future, and he will do anything to try to cause a spiritual heart attack. Let’s not give him any place in our hearts, and let’s learn to detect the signs of SHD.
Symptoms of SHD
In the next chapter, I’m going to walk you through some powerful steps to getting your heart to a place of complete healing and wholeness, but before we get to the prescription, we need to take some time on the examining table. If you recognize yourself in any (or all) of the descriptions below, do not be discouraged. In the very next chapter, we’ll talk about how to start the journey of healing the broken parts of your heart.
Here are some ways to identify the symptoms of a broken and diseased spiritual heart.
1. Your heart feels bruised.
When you have a serious bruise, you tend to protect that area of your body. With even the slightest poke, you can feel sharp pains shooting throughout the entire area, so you do everything you can to keep it covered. This is the same way with a bruised heart. You’re sensitive, you’re defensive, and you get nervous around people because you don’t want them to hurt you. Your heart has already been hurt enough; you don’t need anyone new coming and poking around in there. You feel like you can’t really do what you want to do in life because of the pain you feel on the inside.
When you have a serious bruise, you tend to protect that area of your body. With even the slightest poke, you can feel sharp pains shooting throughout the entire area, so you do everything you can to keep it covered. This is the same way with a bruised heart. You’re sensitive, you’re defensive, and you get nervous around people because you don’t want them to hurt you. Your heart has already been hurt enough; you don’t need anyone new coming and poking around in there. You feel like you can’t really do what you want to do in life because of the pain you feel on the inside.
Many of us have bruised hearts along with very valid reasons why we are hurting: the domineering spouse who tore you down; the bosses who belittled and ignored you; the parents who called you stupid and no good; the rape, the incest, or the physical and emotional abuse. Many of us were victims in a very unfortunate environment, and then many of us went on with life and made some terrible choices that only caused more bruising.
As long as your heart stays bruised, you will live your life small—even if you possess a big vision inside of you. Remember, your heart is the canvas upon which the vision of your life is painted. If it is ragged and torn, your vision will be, too. But the wonderful blessing of being a Christian is we have God’s power within us to bring about the healing we need; all we need to do is embrace His promises.
2. Your heart is angry.
Whenever something doesn’t go quite the way you planned, you get mad. You’re mad because you have the wrong job; you’re mad because the person in front of you isn’t going fast enough; you’re mad because your pants didn’t fit this morning; you’re mad because you broke a nail. You try to manage your anger, to control your outbursts, and to be nice and sweet, but the moment something goes awry, you’re yelling four-letter words and kicking the cat.
Whenever something doesn’t go quite the way you planned, you get mad. You’re mad because you have the wrong job; you’re mad because the person in front of you isn’t going fast enough; you’re mad because your pants didn’t fit this morning; you’re mad because you broke a nail. You try to manage your anger, to control your outbursts, and to be nice and sweet, but the moment something goes awry, you’re yelling four-letter words and kicking the cat.
Probably the worst thing about losing your cool is how terrible you feel afterward. As soon as you simmer down, the guilt and condemnation begin to flood in, and you feel like a failure. You apologize for the millionth time to your spouse, or your kids, or the boss, or your friend, and you wonder if you will be able to ever get out of this crazy cycle.
You
can
stop reacting with anger if you will come to a place of realization that the problem lies within your heart. Remember we read in Proverbs 4:23 that all the issues of life spring forth from the heart. Yours is broken with anger, and unless you purposefully work to build new habits and thought patterns, you will never start to turn your life around toward a more peaceable existence. It’s not everybody else’s fault; it’s not that anyone is out to get you; it’s simply somewhere along the road of life you have been hurt and anger is the only way you know how to release it. Nothing is impossible for you when God is working through you. You
can
learn to live without anger.
can
stop reacting with anger if you will come to a place of realization that the problem lies within your heart. Remember we read in Proverbs 4:23 that all the issues of life spring forth from the heart. Yours is broken with anger, and unless you purposefully work to build new habits and thought patterns, you will never start to turn your life around toward a more peaceable existence. It’s not everybody else’s fault; it’s not that anyone is out to get you; it’s simply somewhere along the road of life you have been hurt and anger is the only way you know how to release it. Nothing is impossible for you when God is working through you. You
can
learn to live without anger.
3. Your heart is afraid.
You’re afraid of getting hurt. You’re afraid of what people might say. You’re up at night worrying about what might happen. Fear is a torment of the devil that tries to rob you of the joys from everyday life. When fear is always in your life, your heart is broken. You will pull back the borders of your life in order to avoid those things that you fear. Because of fear, so many people will not step out into the vision they have inside, and instead they settle for a mediocre life, experiencing only a shadow of what they know they could become.
You’re afraid of getting hurt. You’re afraid of what people might say. You’re up at night worrying about what might happen. Fear is a torment of the devil that tries to rob you of the joys from everyday life. When fear is always in your life, your heart is broken. You will pull back the borders of your life in order to avoid those things that you fear. Because of fear, so many people will not step out into the vision they have inside, and instead they settle for a mediocre life, experiencing only a shadow of what they know they could become.
According to 2 Timothy 1:7, “God did not give you a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and a sound mind.” If you are a Christian and you are united with Christ, you have the power within you to withstand the temptation to live in fear. Sometimes you need to grab hold of the Word of God and do whatever you know God wants you to do even if you are terrified! That is better than sitting on the sidelines of life waiting for the feelings of fear to subside. The only way to get rid of fear is to face it. I always say, “Fear pounded on the door, faith opened it—and nothing was there!” Fear is scared. If you will just stand up to it, it will flee from you.
If this is an area you struggle with, take some time to reread and reread again the first section on faith. Faith is the opposite of fear, and much, much more powerful.
4. Your heart is pessimistic.
“That probably won’t work.” “It’ll never happen.” “I’d never be able to do that.” “It works for them, but it would never work for me.” Do you hear yourself saying these kinds of phrases? Do you see the world as good or as bad? In terms of how you embrace life, do you often see possibilities or impossibilities? Do you wake up in the morning and think, “Something good is going to happen to me today!” Or do you say with resignation, “Dear God, I wonder what’s going to happen today . . .”
“That probably won’t work.” “It’ll never happen.” “I’d never be able to do that.” “It works for them, but it would never work for me.” Do you hear yourself saying these kinds of phrases? Do you see the world as good or as bad? In terms of how you embrace life, do you often see possibilities or impossibilities? Do you wake up in the morning and think, “Something good is going to happen to me today!” Or do you say with resignation, “Dear God, I wonder what’s going to happen today . . .”
A pessimistic heart is a broken heart and will always find excuses about why life is so difficult and how things will never get better. You will never be able to live in the abundance God has provided for you if you are caught in these types of beliefs.
Everything
about a life with God is going from glory to glory and living from blessing to even more blessings. If you are a pessimist, how can you possibly receive His plans and purposes for you?
Everything
about a life with God is going from glory to glory and living from blessing to even more blessings. If you are a pessimist, how can you possibly receive His plans and purposes for you?
If you find you often tend to believe the negative, it’s time to heal that broken heart. In addition, you’ve probably never allowed yourself to establish a positive and prosperous vision for your life. Remember, Jesus came so that we—and that includes
you
—would experience an abundant overflowing-with-blessings life (John 10:10). No matter how many years you have dwelt in pessimism, you
can
learn to be the one who sees the glass as half full.
you
—would experience an abundant overflowing-with-blessings life (John 10:10). No matter how many years you have dwelt in pessimism, you
can
learn to be the one who sees the glass as half full.
God cares about the condition of our hearts. He is concerned about what is in and what is coming out of our hearts, because that determines the quality of our lives and our ability to see our visions come to pass. God is for you, and He wants you to succeed, maybe even more than you do. He needs His kids to be a reflection of His goodness, mercy, love, and prosperity so the world will be drawn to know Jesus. Let’s get our hearts whole so we can be those bright lights shining in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, and in our cities.
9
The Reins of Vision
I
grew up around horses. In fact, there is a picture of me at two years old sitting as happy and content as can be right underneath a full-grown horse! As teenagers, my brother, Dale, and I would compete in rodeos as a roping team, and we spent countless summer afternoons grooming and exercising our horses. There is nothing like the feeling of going at a full sprint in the saddle of a strong horse.
grew up around horses. In fact, there is a picture of me at two years old sitting as happy and content as can be right underneath a full-grown horse! As teenagers, my brother, Dale, and I would compete in rodeos as a roping team, and we spent countless summer afternoons grooming and exercising our horses. There is nothing like the feeling of going at a full sprint in the saddle of a strong horse.
The very first thing anyone learns about handling a horse is you need to have the confidence to know you
—not
the animal—are in control. Horses are very intelligent and perceptive, and they can sense immediately if the person sitting on their backs is a skilled equestrian or is a novice rider. Wendy learned this concept first-hand when I took her home to meet my mother for the first time. My mom still lived in the same house: land, pastures, horses and all.
—not
the animal—are in control. Horses are very intelligent and perceptive, and they can sense immediately if the person sitting on their backs is a skilled equestrian or is a novice rider. Wendy learned this concept first-hand when I took her home to meet my mother for the first time. My mom still lived in the same house: land, pastures, horses and all.
I saddled up two horses, threw the bridles on, and mounted my horse. Wendy just stood there looking a bit confused, so I told her, “Come on! Just jump on.” She still stood there, and answered, “Huh?”
I helped her get up on the horse, and I could tell she was a bit nervous about it.
“What do I do?” she asked.
“Take the reins, and tell the horse where you want him to go. Just guide him, and he will follow.”
I realized this whole experience was new for her. While I had been around horses all of my life, Wendy had never ridden before, and the thought that a small human being could control such a strong animal was foreign to her. She wasn’t sure the horse was going to obey her, and feeling her tentativeness, the horse agreed with her. I showed her how to lead the horse with the reins and with authority. Very soon, she began to relax and to confidently take control of the animal. And I guess it worked and she had fun because she married me!
Many people approach life like the inexperienced rider. They aren’t sure what they should do, and they don’t believe they are going to be able to control the horse once they get into the saddle. So they say “Giddy-up!” and then hang on to the saddle for dear life as they allow life to lead them as opposed to them leading life. But believe me, unless you make that horse go where you want it to go, it will take you where it wants to go. As soon as that horse realizes you’ve given up control you’re in trouble, and it will immediately begin to take advantage of you.
So it is with the world in which we live. When the spirit of this world realizes you’ve given up control, that you’ve surrendered to circumstance, that you’ve surrendered to negativity, sickness, and poverty, and you’ve turned over the reins of control to whomever or whatever happens to walk into your life, the world will break you, buck you, and beat you down. Suddenly, you realize that fear is running you, anxiety is making your decisions, and negative people are controlling you.
You are a child of the Most High God. You are made in His likeness and His image. Fear, anxiety, and negativity should not be controlling factors. Take hold of the reins of your life! You can make your life go where you want it to go and refuse to give up control to anyone or anything else. How is this accomplished? You make sure to get your heart whole and healed. Remember,
all
the issues of your life spring forth from your heart, and the wholeness of it determines the quality of your life. With a whole (healthy and renewed) heart, you are able to take control of the reins of life and bring forth a successful, abundant, prosperous life. With a wounded and weak heart, you will not have the strength to endure the trials and tribulations that come your way.
all
the issues of your life spring forth from your heart, and the wholeness of it determines the quality of your life. With a whole (healthy and renewed) heart, you are able to take control of the reins of life and bring forth a successful, abundant, prosperous life. With a wounded and weak heart, you will not have the strength to endure the trials and tribulations that come your way.
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