Following from a post, which was powerfully written by my sister Rue “Heart check”, today I wanted to start a new series about the heart, particularly issues of the heart. So fasten your seatbelts, and get ready!
First of all, let’s talk about what the heart is. We hear a lot in culture that ‘follow your heart’, ‘go with your heart’, but then we also hear of ‘heartbreak’. Biologically, the heart is what pumps blood around the whole body, as long as your heart is still beating, you’re still living, right? It’s the life source. Biblically , the heart seems to be where our feelings are. Proverbs 4:23, Above all guard your heart, for from it flows all the issues of life. Not only our feelings but our wants, our desires, our emotions, what we want, how we feel, what we believe.
The Bible meanings of Heart – Here’s a really good blog post about the heart, biblically explaining the meanings of the word heart biblically. I’m gonna present to you now what the biblical origins for our heart, beyond the physical organ.
“Let’s look closer at the Hebrew word “heart” in the Old Testament, which is “לב” (“leb” spoken). This term stands for the inner part of a person and refers to our will, mind, consciousness, emotions and understanding. It also refers to a person’s moral character and determination. Furthermore, the heart is the place of knowledge, memory and reflection (those processes take part in our brain, of course).But you see, this term covers more than just the described functions of the brain. The Hebrews understood the term “leb” in a more holistic way. They saw it as the driving force behind our character, decisions, words and deeds.
Let’s take it a step further and look at the “heart” in the Greek New Testament.
The Greek term is “καρδία” (“kardia” spoken). This expression also has many different meanings. It stands for the origin of our spiritual life and includes the emotions we experience, the thoughts we have and our will in life. It also describes the center of our longings, desires and feelings. You see it’s quite similar to the Hebrew meaning.”
What happens then, if the life source isn’t okay. If within your heart, it’s not clean or it’s broken or it’s been hurt. Let’s be realistic. It can be very easy to go along on the outside smiling and looking happy, but your heart is heavy, and is burdened and you’re not doing okay on the inside. We will be like a wall, where on the inside its rotting, but we cover it with plaster or wallpaper. But enough is enough! It’s high time we deal with the issues on the inside and work on them. Why? Because we can only give out what we have on the inside. We can only pretend for so long, whilst walking wounded.
But with some wounds the only way for them to be healed is to be exposed.
As we explore this, we will begin to talk about forgiveness, we will talk about identifying these areas for yourself, we will be talking about insecurities, we will be talking even about hurts or even sin we may have hidden within our heart, that we may have experienced too, and most importantly healing.
I talk with you not because I have it all figured, believe me, most of the things I write down it’s usually what God is teaching within me at the same time, so that we continue to grow together. This is not just a one day thing, but we work on it daily. I had a relation when reading the word of God one day, and I realised that the closer you draw to God, the more He shows you of yourself. The more we allow him to show us areas of our weakness, the more we can lean on Him, for HIS GRACE is sufficient for us.
So this week, before we kick it off with the first post in this new series, take time to pray and ask God to show you areas of which your heart isn’t okay. Or maybe have time of reflection. Look into what things have hurt you in the past! And next week, God willing we will be looking at identifying those areas and forgiveness !
God bless you!
~ peace, joy & love ♥️
TK x
TK writes 