What’s the Heart & Why it Matters that You Understand It
What is the Heart?
Proverbs 4:23 is a powerful verse concerning the heart! It says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” Here we have the heart described as the source of the "source of life." But what does it mean to address when the Bible refers to "the heart." Does it mean to refer to the central organ of the cardiovascular system, a network of blood vessels that pumps blood throughout the body? That is one way of looking at it for sure. Yet, if it only means this, we should look for purely physical solutions to our emotional pain and place our hope in thorough exercise routines. Unfortunately, this has been the conclusion of some. Foolishly believing that what they experience emotionally results only from chemical reactions and imbalances. Concerning the cardiovascular system, the physical heart is undoubtedly the "spring of life." Still, the Bible means much more than physiology when referring to the heart.
In popular culture, the term "heart" is typically used to refer to emotions. While this is at least an acknowledgment that the word is used metaphorically and does include emotions, does the Bible's use imply anything more? The answer is yes. In referring to the heart, the Bible refers to emotions, thoughts, and intentions. The heart is both a place where we experience emotion and a place where we reason, the domain of logic. It is meant to capture a picture of the entire inner person.
“Heart” is the most encompassing biblical word to describe the inner person. Hebrews 4:12 affirms this, saying, “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” When we discuss the heart, we refer to the thought process and inner desires and motives. Kohler & Baumgardner, authors of The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, describe the heart as “one’s inner self, seat of feelings and emotions, inclination, disposition, will, reason, the mind in general.”
Why It Matters?
When we say that God desires to revive our hearts, we are not just saying he is interested in our emotional well-being. Instead, we are saying that he seeks to heal our emotions, desires, will, disposition, and manner of reasoning. This has a wide range of implications. What would it mean for your disposition to be healed? It would mean that God is interested in transforming cynicism into optimism. Skepticism into hopefulness. Distrust into trust. If you are pessimistic, could God transform your disposition into one of hopeful expectations? I believe so. He wants to heal the suspicions that have grown in your heart due to disappointment and betrayal and give you a transparent and honest disposition that invites genuine intimacy with others.
What about your reasoning? The emotional scares caused by past wounds can affect our ability to reason judiciously. Wounded people are prone, for example, to interpret a wide array of behaviors as being an intentional slight towards them. What if God could heal our ability to believe the best about others. What if we didn’t suspect malicious intention whenever something was said that offended us. Or when they passed us without speaking. I believe God is just as interested in healing our ability to evaluate and reason as our capacity to love. God desires to revive all implied faculties when he says “heart.”
Excerpt from The Revived Heart
Counseling isn’t just about finding a way through difficult challenges, it’s about walking with a brother or sister in order to discover the means and methods by which God is working out is greatest aim for. your life - the formation of Christ-likeness.
As God calls us to address issues of the heart, he isn’t just wanting us to ensure that our emotions are in check, so to speak. He desires for our entire inner man be brought into submission to his will for his glory and our greater good.
