Wednesday, March 30

No Debate about the Ability to Strengthen the Heart

As I have revisited physiology – specifically the physiology of the heart – I have relearned the truth that we are always learning! Even websites that are a few years old can be out of date when it comes to science. One website that I referenced in an earlier devotion, had a quote from a medical doctor that indicated that “heart muscle unlike skeletal muscle cannot get stronger.”

As we turn our attention to the subject of “strengthening the heart” in both tonight’s worship service and this week, I have done subsequent reading, which seems to definitively indicate that heart muscle grows stronger at least passively and tangentially; but many recent studies seem to be indicating that heart muscle itself can grow stronger through manipulation.

Interestingly, no one has ever doubted that heart muscle can become weaker.

Science is always learning more about how we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139). But if I simple exclusively looked at Scripture, it is clear that the heart – our spiritual organ – can certainly grow stronger. There are at least three references in Scripture where it specifically states that the heart can be strengthened:

^“Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will strengthen their heart, You will make Your ear attentive (Psalm 10:17)

 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. II Thess. 2:16, 17

^“You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. James 5:8

The first two verses remind us that the Source of the strength of our heart is the Lord Himself. No surprise there if you are Lutheran. We understand that God is the initiator of faith and new life in Him, and even after faith is conceived, our Triune God cooperates in our growth in every aspect.

But what about that quote from James, the head of the Jerusalem church and the half-brother of Jesus? He turns to the saints in Jerusalem and tells them to “strengthen your hearts…” Where is the Lord in this exercise?

James begins the chapter by ripping into the wealthier members of the Jerusalem church (and also those outside the faith), for their greed and refusal to be generous in wages. It seems as though part of this strengthening happens through humility. You may remember Paul’s words, “…when I am weak, then I am strong.” (II Cor. 2:10c)

James begins verse eight of chapter 5 by saying “You too be patient…” In the prior verse he’s speaking about farming. Even today, with all of our irrigation and technological manipulation in farming, there is still a place for patience. The farmer needs to wait for growth, sometimes wait for rain, and sometimes wait for sun. There remains a large space for “faith” in farming. Impatience is in this case the antithesis of trust. So how do we gain patience? We stop, remind ourselves that God is in charge, and trust. The heart is strong when it trusts God more than the circumstances of the world.