On Being Whole Hearted
It is said of God that “He will strengthen your heart.” (Psalm 27:14)
The physical heart is a marvel. This four-chambered, four-valved pump moves 5,000 gallons of blood a day through 12,000 miles of vessels.
Reading this will be a bit weighty, but hopefully will give you a better understanding of just what it means for God to “strengthen your heart.”
The meaning of this has been veiled for years. Without awareness of this promise British researcher Dr. Alan Watkins has pulled back the veil on a fuller meaning. He speaks of the heart as the body’s powerhouse which has a “hitherto unrecognized role in balancing the entire human system.” He says the heart produces fifty times more electrical energy than the brain, and a thousand times more electro-magnetic energy. As the strongest power source in the body, it coordinates all the other body systems, including the brain, commonly thought to be the dominant organ. It produces harmony throughout the body called entraining.
Entraining is illustrated as seeing a large flock of birds swooping in flight moving in and out of the swarm while moving as one. So the heart sets the pattern in the body for all systems. When there is a positive emotional state these systems entrain harmoniously. When this happens the brain works better, the immune system functions better, and your hormonal system is at its best.
When our Lord says He will strengthen our heart He is saying He will help our brain, immune system, and hormones work together to their fullest advantage. All of this happens when the Lord is allowed to strengthen our heart by us thinking with the mind of Christ; that is, thinking as He would under our circumstances. That is accomplished if you let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. Doing so impacts the entire body.
That is why you must “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)
Only when the primary thing is in place (Jesus) do secondary things matter.
Jesus offered this encouraging word, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” Why?
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory….” (II Corinthians 4:16, 17)