Chaplain’s Corner — Caring For Your Heart
Caring For Your Heart
Psalm 139:1-6
In our profession we spend a lot of time giving physical exams. From early on in our training we’re taught the importance of performing a thorough examination – especially on the heart. We listen for tones, murmurs, regularity, rubs and more. We do 12 lead EKG’s for rhythm disturbances and check pulses for profusion. In all, we place a big emphasis on our patient’s hearts and for a very good reason. If the heart isn’t right, the whole body suffers. As we study this passage from a Psalm of David we’ll recognize how well the Lord knows our heart, has good plans for us, understands our faults and is ready to help us.
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. 3 You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. 5 You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know! (Psalm 136:1-6) NLT
The Lord is truly concerned about our hearts and He’s fully examined each of us. He sees beyond the façade of your personality into the very depths of your heart. He has searched you and He knows everything about you. In His compassion and grace, the Lord knows better than anyone else how to care for you when you’re hurting, unsure, depressed, overwhelmed or afraid. God recognizes when you sit down to rest or contemplate a decision as well as when you stand up to take action. Your daily life is open to Him and even though you cannot see Him, the Lord knows everything about you.
Not only does the Lord know all about you but He has charted the path for you to follow. Life often has difficult obstacles and decisions so the Lord has already picked out places for you to stop and rest along the way. A climber attempting to scale Mount Everest has to make time to eat, rest and re-supply. Often people get so busy in our profession that they fail to seek the strength that God offers them and they suffer physically and emotionally. We sometimes refer to this as burn-out in EMS. No matter how committed you are, you must remember that it’s alright to slow down and lean on the Lord. Similar to the AVL system on the ambulance, the Lord knows where you are in life at every moment. In other words, He can see the bigger picture when we cannot. The same message the Lord gave those who were struggling with troubles and trials years ago is still true today.
“…I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 19:11-14a) NLT
God is personally interested in you because He knows your heart so well. He even knows what you’re going to say even before you say it. Thus, the Lord also tells us that, “a good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil heart” (Matthew 12:35) NLT. Have you ever had to make the apology, “that’s not what I meant to say?” Our words come from our heart before they reach our lips. God knows what’s in your heart even when you’re able to disguise your words from others. That’s why your prayers can be silent and without pretense – God knows what’s in our hearts more than we do. When a close friend of the Lord died, He felt the pain and sorrow of this man’s sister and His own heart overflowed with compassion for her. “Don’t cry!” he said (Luke 7:13) NLT. Think of how comforting this is when you don’t know what to say or what to ask of Him. In Psalm 61:2 David said, “From the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help, for my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety” NLT. God hears the cry of your heart.
Not only does the Lord hear the cry of your heart, but He goes before you. Each morning when you begin your shift, you precede your patients. In other words you make preparation to care for the needs of your patients with your equipment and supplies. While others are going about their daily lives you are planning for the worst that could happen to them. So the Lord has also made preparations to care for your needs as well while you’re unaware. He has all the resources of heaven at his ready. Not only do you precede but you also follow your patients until they are delivered. God meets you at the point of your need and has promised, “I will never fail you. I will never forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5) NLT. He never abandons you. Like a caring physician the Lord places his hand of blessing on your head. When others shy away, God is not afraid to be hands-on with you despite your troubles.
As you think on these things you may agree that such knowledge is too wonderful for you, too great for you to know. When you feel alone, angry, hurt or ashamed, God is there and He deeply cares about you. One New Testament writer proclaimed, “Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods!” (Hebrews 11:33) NLT. You may not understand everything about God, but you can rejoice that He sees your heart and wants to save you from the pain of death and despair.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for caring so much about my heart. Bless me that I may always show compassion to those you put in my life as you show compassion to me.
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Comments
You are so correct Scott! We have became so accustome to sacrificing our own wants and needs to respond to others in need that we no longer realize how much we are in need. Thank you for the reminder that God will always attend to our needs when we continue to put them aside he just dosen’t usually use lights and sirens
WE ARE SO UNDESERVINGLY BLESSED!!!