The most important heart condition Dr. Fauci hasn’t mentioned
By Dean Collins
We have probably all seen this. One person gets Covid-19 and is desperately sick. Another gets it and may lose their sense of smell and taste for a few days and feel almost no other symptoms and wonder what’s the big fuss. We are learning more day by day, but it seems this virus is a hard one to understand.
It was Jeremiah, and not Dr Fauci. who said, “Cursed is the man who . . . makes flesh his strength. . . . The heart is . . . desperately sick.” Jeremiah wasn’t talking about a sickness that infects our lungs. Jeremiah was talking about a serious, even fatal, heart condition that is deceitful and impossible to understand.
When I worked as a therapist I saw hundreds of people who wanted help. Sometimes they knew or thought they knew the specific problem. Usually they knew only the symptoms, and we needed to discover the root cause. I discovered that all of the clients (and the therapists) had the same condition. Deceitful hearts lead to a multitude of problems. They stir up individuals, marriages, businesses, churches, and governments. And most of us have spent some money on a therapist or a consultant or some medical professional trying to find a cure. All of that can be quite helpful. There are real mental health issues and professional help is often needed to resolve or treat these illnesses. But there is more.
Searching the heart
Jeremiah 17:10 says that God searches our hearts and minds and gives to each of us according to our ways and our deeds. While we might not like to admit it, we all have blind spots, things we don’t see or understand about ourselves. Others see some of these and can help us overcome or reveal areas that need attention. But God alone knows us completely. He knows both the wonderful and the ugly parts of our motives. The good news is that he also has created a way we can correct our dark side.
Jeremiah describes a way forward remarkably like what David suggested in Psalm 1. We can either choose our own path, trusting in ourselves and in those around us, or we can trust in the Lord and lean on him for our strength and guidance. If we choose self and only human support the results aren’t very good. We end up about as fruitful as a shrub in the dessert. But if we trust in the Lord we are like a tree planted near a stream constantly refreshed.
In either case we will see some lean times and difficult moments, even droughts. I’ve seen several. But Jeremiah tells us that when we trust in God we will find water and resources to keep us productive. We will also not have to fear about the next difficulty, because when we lean on God, he will come through over and over again.
Healing the heart
The apostle Paul in Romans 7 confessed that no matter how hard he tries to do the right thing, he found himself doing the wrong thing. But he experienced the greatest rescue from trusting in Jesus for forgiveness and for a truly transformed heart. Our great physician can and will help us daily with our deceitful heart issues. He can take our desperately sick condition and make us whole. He not only understands us, he can help us understand ourselves. When we trust in Jesus and commit to leaning on him instead of ourselves, the harvest will be amazing time after time.
Your time with God’s Word
Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1:1-6 ESV
Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash
