I have a heart condition.

Don’t we all?

Bitter hearts. Damaged hearts. Fatigued hearts. Hardened hearts. Hateful hearts. Lying hearts. Spiteful hearts.

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Sin has gotten us here. Even the diseased heart is of sin. Our perfected selves in the garden fell into sickness and disease as a result of pride and self-righteousness thinking. Us easily falling prey to these lies has led us to a condition that we have a most difficult time breaking free from. Our faithless situations keep us in chains.

God breaks those chains if we give Him the key that we hide so well in our embittered souls. But instead of letting go, we like to remain in control of our destinies, accomplishing prideful gain instead of relying on the foundation to hold us up.

My heart condition goes further than pride and sin. I truly have a faulty mechanism in there. I use to think about it a lot until other people’s attitudes and opinions had me doubting my worth or condition. I listened to them above my own body to the point of neglect. Now I scramble to recoup the life left in me. Awareness, physical care, and medical help is pushing me to change priorities. Prayer is what lifts me through communion with the Lord and hope in Scripture. My heart may turn around, strive for health, and live beyond what my brain has tried to restrain. People’s opinions have no say over my worth in the Lord or His plans for me.

How do I push past the doubters, the nay-sayers, and the strife? What do I say when I put my health ahead of the negative talking-points of those who always have something to say without holding up their truths against God’s truth? How do we, as a body, stand up for veracity in the face of adversity to our faith and our personal journeys?

Hebrews 10:22

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

In the end, it’s us that determines our own heart conditions. When it’s hardened, we need to dive deep into why it’s become blackened to the truth and faith. When it’s sick, we should not dismiss it because others don’t believe in our ailments. We need to take care of our hearts. We need to push past the bitterness, the darkness, and the sickness, and seek healing. The Lord lifts the fog of perplexity that we find ourselves in. He erases any doubt when true reliance on His goodness and faithfulness develop. Rest in that truth. Allow your heart to be open to Him, Jehovah Rapha, our healer.