Give Me an Undivided Heart
Teach me your way, LORD,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
I was recently told I need a heart ablation to correct an arrhythmia. As I researched the procedure the Lord brought the words “Undivided Heart” in Psalms 86:11 to my attention. The King James and NASB says “unite” our hearts.
God gave me this beautiful heart analogy revealing He alone is my Spiritual Cardiologist.
An Undivided Physical Heart
Our physical heart has four chambers. During each heartbeat, the two uppers chambers (atria) contract, followed by the two lower chambers (ventricles). This action is directed by the heart’s electrical system.
When our heart is working correctly –undivided– an impulse of electrical activity spreads through the right and left atria, causing them to contract. The blood is forced out of the heart to the lungs and the body.
It really amazing it does this about 100,800 times a day.
Heart Arrhythmia
An arrhythmia is irregular heartbeat caused by a problem. The beat is either faster or slower than it should. The electrical flow gets blocked or travels the same pathways repeatedly creating something of a “short circuit” that disturbs normal heart rhythms causing them to be disorganized, rapid, or too slow, and irregular.
The results of arrhythmia can be minor to debilitating or serious enough to cause death. In my case. the result has been unable to preform normal daily routines like fixing dinner with out several periods of rest to catch by breath.
Man’s Original Heart was Perfect
Man was made originally in a perfect condition. His heart was functioning properly and he enjoyed perfect fellowship with YHWH.
When man was seduced by Satan, an element foreign to his nature entered –sin–and disrupted his heart. The sin divides out heart causing disorganized and irregular causing need of regeneration, of the new birth. (John 3:5).
Spiritual Arrhythmia
We were created to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Each time we allow sin in our life we disrupt the beautiful fellowship.
Due to our sin nature our heart is divided. One part desires God the other part is involved with fleshly desires.
When our spiritual heart beat is out of whack –too fast or too slow–we experience symptoms anger, depression, restlessness, boredom, lack of joy and peace.
When David asked for an undivided or united heart he was saying “my heart is broken, fragmented, not working correctly. Put me back together, that I may fear your name. The term, “to fear,” is a term signifying worship in the true sense of the word.
Correcting Physical Heart Arrhythmia
The debilitating symptoms of my arrhythmia made me seek a solution. God gives us a primary warning system to indicate when something is wrong. It took months of test to find out why I was feeling so bad.
One cardiologist did not bother investigating the problem but instead tried to mask the symptoms with dangerous medications. I changed doctors.
Once the problem was found a plan of action was formed: the doctor will map, localize, and then destroyed (ablate) the area causing the arrythmia.
The doctor will use a pacemaker-like device to send electrical impulses to the heart then move the catheters around to see which area the arrhythmia is coming from. Once he finds the area of arrhythmia, energy is applied producing a circular scar. The scar will then block any impulses firing thus preventing atrial fibrillation from occurring. The procedure usually takes about four to eight hours.
I have an appointment next week to schedule the ablation.
Correcting Spiritual Heart Arrhythmia
A lack of joy and peace in our spiritual lives cause us to seek solution–or it should. God gives us a primary warning system to indicate when something is wrong.
We fix spiritual heart disease by first doing an examination to find the root cause of the sin. Once the problem is identified the Holy Spirit can ablate it.
You may try to figure your symptoms out by your self and you end up spinning your wheels. I know from experience. I tried to earn God’s love. See my story here. Working harder is NOT the answer!
Genuine transformation is a work of Christ in us not the outcome of our own performance.
You may try (like my previous doctors) to mask the symptoms with medications (behaviors such as indulging in shopping, gossiping, eating, the Internet, entertainment, etc). We may try to self medicating by working harder (changing from the outside). Masking symptoms only make the problem worse.
We must learn to respond appropriately rather than looking for a way to block it out or blame others.
You will only find the problem through prayer by asking God to reveal sin with a sincere desire to obey and correct our behavior. God rewards honesty and humility by making His strength perfect in our weakness.
We need to allow God to examine our heart. To poke around chambers and arteries until He reveals the problem. He may reveal the sin immediately and you can repent. Sometimes it may take awhile to find the cause. There may be sin we are in denial about, or deep hidden unforgiveness causing debilitating symptoms.
I needed a good doctor to investigate my symptoms, I was so frustrated I could relate to to TV show Medical Mysteries. Not knowing the problem is the worst.
The only way our problem can be uncovered and revealed is by our spiritual cardiologist, the Holy Spirit.
Some of us have deep emotional pain from our past generated by lies rooted in faulty thinking. In order to confess and repent and receive true release of the emotional pain we need to identify lies and examine the Truth –God’s perspective.
Our past is no excuse for our current sin behavior or choices. But it may be a key to reveal hidden or denied sin.
It may take a time of fasting, or others prayers, or laying on of hands. Buried or hidden sin must be uncovered, identified, owned, and brought to God.
When we reveal and repent of sin, God unites the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. He floods us with His healing light. Sin is removed our innermost being is functioning properly like a perfect mechanism.
Our hearts become undivided by God from the inside out.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.
Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.
Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:2
God Never Stops Loving Us
Sin breaks fellowship but it does not cause God to love us less. He desires our undivided heart. (For more on this read the book of Hosea).
…for I love people even though they sin.” Hosea 3:1
God is our spiritual cardiologist He made our heart, He knows the problems and is willing to reveal it to us. Only He can make it whole. We only need to submit and let Him set the pace.
Out of sheer generosity He put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We’ve finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.
Romans 3:24-28
Remember God gives us a warning symptoms when something is wrong. If we ignore it, we will at some point suffer consequences.
Undivided Heart Lyrics
Brokenness has brought me to my knees
Face to face with all that’s dark in me
I can barely see You through my shame
Jesus come and wash me white again
Flood me with Your healing light
Help me choose what’s true and right
Give me an undivided heart
I want to love You with every partâ
Give me an undivided soul
I want to be Yours alone Yours alone
At the cross I find Your open arms
Reminding me there’s grace for all I’ve done
With Your blood You wipe away my past
Taking on Yourself my sin and scars
By Your power help me change
Break off every single chain
You make all things new
So take my ashes and make them something beautiful
Do what only You can do
Take my ashes and make them something beautiful
