SPIRITUAL HEART CHECK-UP (1)

“I thought about my WAYS, and TURNED MY FEET to Your testimonies” – Psalm 119:59

Heart Transformation is enhanced by sincere SPIRITUAL HEART CHECK-UP: “I entreated Your favour with MY WHOLE HEART; be merciful to me according to Your word. I thought about my WAYS, and TURNED MY FEET to Your testimonies” (Psa.119:58-59). Scriptures such as these emphasize the importance of examining our ways, beginning with our hearts. When it comes to physical health, doctors often recommend a routine physical examination in order to detect health problems before they become severe. The same thinking can be applied to spiritual health. It is usual in our digital age, that when we are concerned about a health issue, we quickly look up the symptoms on the Internet and attempt to self-diagnose. We’re relieved when we discover on visiting our medical consultant, that we are not candidates for the condition we thought we had, but only showed a minor, easily treatable ailment!

While self-assessment may not always prove beneficial to physical health, its value to spiritual health could be tremendous. When we adopt this method of fixing issues that can arise in our spiritual lives, using God’s Word as standard, we have a much better chance of identifying where we’re going wrong and what we can do about it. As Believers in Christ, self-assessment becomes an increasingly important part of our faith as we mature spiritually. Just as periodic check-ups with doctors and dentists help us to take care of our physical health, regular reflection on how we’re fairing in accordance with our faith and what steps we need to take to remedy any areas of weakness helps us become stronger spiritually. It also ensures that we tackle challenges proactively – before they get out of control. God encourages us to look inward in order to identify areas of deficiency so that we can address them.

Specifically, God wants not only our biological hearts, but also our spiritual hearts, to be healthy and in good working order. To keep the biological heart strong, healthy, and in good functional order would involve adequate exercise and proper diet. The goal is to prevent cholesterol build-up in the arteries so they don’t become blocked and cause damage to the heart muscle. Such excessive accumulation could make the walls of the arteries to become hardened and inflexible. The arteries become narrow and cut off oxygen-carrying, life-giving blood supply, causing a myriad of problems for the body, and possibly, eventually heart damage.

The spiritual heart reacts similarly. When the pollution of sin is permitted to settle into the heart, it becomes hardened. Anger, bitterness, hatred, resentment, sinful thoughts and behaviours take over, and the Living Water that Christ supplies is dammed. This calls for periodic heart check-ups in our spiritual walk. From time to time, it is necessary to evaluate ourselves, to ask ourselves questions to see if we are living the life Christ designed for us to live. Without examination, we might not even see a problem. But as we engage in spiritual heart check-up, we’ll deal with the rough edges, touch the tender areas, and uproot some areas completely.

No matter the changes and challenges we encounter in the world or the personal, family or career issues we may be grappling with, God expects us to stay connected to the Vine (Jh.15: 1-5). He desires that we draw closer to Him and increasingly reflect the Image of Christ. How we can truly assess whether or not we are maturing in Christlikeness is by engaging in spiritual check-up. Just like we get our annual physical check-ups, our spiritual lives are also in need of regular maintenance. The Christian Life should be one of continual spiritual growth: “But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Pet.3:18a).

It’s high time to examine our spiritual hearts so that our WAYS and FEET would align with God’s Testimonies. Are we aware of any weaknesses? Do we know what to guard ourselves against? Are we spending enough time in the Word? Are we growing stronger or weaker in prayers? We’ll find answers to these and other related questions as we engage in sincere spiritual heart check-ups!