James 4:7-8
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

On a Friday morning four weeks ago, my husband called me from a local store in our area where he had gone in to pick up a prescription for me. He said that he just didn’t feel well and that he was having a burning feeling in his chest like heartburn. He also said that he only felt the burning sensation when he was walking or moving. He told me he was on his way home and that he would see me soon.

I am convinced that it was the Holy Spirit that prompted me to ask him not to drive. I asked him to walk to the front of the store and have a seat until I could get there. Upon arriving I immediately rushed him to the Emergency room. Little did I know that, that night he would literally face death. He was given 7-8 nitroglycerin tablets in only a 3 hour span just to keep him alive until the doctors could arrive. He was in the process of having a heart attack. Had we ignored the symptoms and the prompting of the Holy Spirit to take him straight to the Emergency room it would have been a disaster. His largest artery was 98% blocked and there was a 90-95% blockage in two other arteries. His pain was more severe and intense than anything I have ever seen. After two surgeries and five days in the hospital we are back home. Praise God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is doing well. He will have to stay off from work for another 2 weeks. The rest should help him also in the healing process.
Thank you so much for the cards and calls we have received so far.

In everything there is a lesson and I learned some things from this situation:

  1. When we are prompted by the Holy Spirit it could literally be a matter of life or death.

We must obey immediately. Most of us won’t face something of this magnitude, but our obedience to His voice and His prompting are equally as important regardless of the size of the issue.

1 Samuel 15:22
22 So Samuel said:
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
2. Just as our physical arteries become blocked with a life threatening substance so can our spiritual arteries. When we have disobedience, sin, hatred, selfishness, lust, greed, pride, etc. our spiritual arteries become clogged and the love of God as He intended will not flow through us properly, thus causing serious heart problems. We become guilty of hindering His purpose in us and we become in-effective as His Kingdom Builders. Just as we eat healthy to prevent physical blockages we must do the same to prevent spiritual blockages. So let’s renew our commitment to feast on the healthy food of God, such as reading His word, meditating on it daily, praying without ceasing, journaling and just spending time quietly listening for His sweet voice. By doing these things each day we will truly become Heart Healthy.

1 Samuel 12:20-24
20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. 22 For the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.

Proverbs 23:7
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he….

1 Samuel 16:7
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees;[a] for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Proverbs 4:23
23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

Luke 4:4
4 But Jesus answered him, saying,[a] “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”[b]

Mark 12:30-31
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[a] This is the first commandment.[b] 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] There is no other commandment greater than these.”

 

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