Heart Food
By Carol Wollaston
Don’t chocoholics just love the notion that dark chocolate is good for the heart? The same can be said for red wine drinkers! We have heard the news that those two items contain antioxidants that help in the fight against free radicals, and of course, we are against radicals of any kind, so let’s eat, drink and be merry!! Also don’t antioxidants help fight the ageing process? ‘Bring them on!’ we happily cry. Interestingly, the Bible says in Hebrews 13:9 ‘for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.’ So let’s get real!
What are the things that we need to guard against that really affect our heart adversely? Some would suggest that stress is to be avoided. Others would say that bitterness turns the heart sour, and frustration left untreated becomes anger just waiting to erupt. In the Bible God warns against darkness, foolishness, hardness and impenitence of the heart. He warns against setting up idols in our hearts, allowing evil and covetousness to dwell there. He warns against law-based assessments and judgements of others veiling our own hearts and He reminds us that the mouth will blurt out what is really in our heart no matter how hard we try to conceal those feelings. He wants us to be ‘cut to the heart’ so that we can be changed by Him. The apostle Paul suggests we need ‘circumcision of the heart’ so that selfish values and ways of life can be eradicated, leaving us with a soft heart upon which the living God can write Christ’s life and love for others to read. It is the ultimate cardiac transplant when He cuts out the heart of stone in us and replaces it with a new heart and a new spirit. (Rom 2:5,29; 2 Cor 3:3,18)
Jesus said, ‘blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’. What a promise for those who have a faithful heart with no double standards, who are of one heart with God and His people because God has enlarged their hearts. Like King David, they will be people ‘after God’s own heart’, and like Mary, they will keep the deep issues of faith and ‘ponder on them in their hearts’. Like the two men on the road to Emmaus, the word of God will ‘burn in their hearts’, ringing true to them, a treasure close to them in their hearts and in their mouths. (Mat 5:8; 1 Sam 13:14; Luke 2:19; 24:32)
Jesus encouraged us not to let our ‘hearts be troubled or afraid’, even in the weighty matters of death and dying. No matter what strong emotions may flow from our hearts, John reminds us that God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. When our hearts are breaking over wayward children, the prophetic call of Malachi reminds us that God will ‘turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.’ (John 14:1; 1 John 3:20; Mal 4:6)
So in essence, enjoy your chocolate and red wine. Cut down on fatty and refined foods, eating more fresh fruit and vegetables. This is just common sense. But the Word of God is the real heart food. Let Him search and know your heart. He is wanting to be the strength of your heart, and His promise is that Jesus has come to heal the broken-hearted and restore them to gladness of heart. In an age where heart disease is on the increase, these are wonderful promises for us all. (Psa 73:26; Luke 4:18)
