Original Acrylic, Jesus’ Lavishing Love, by Marcia Carole – Donated to the Head of Baptist Youth Camp, Hungary
After my latest chemo treatment this past Monday, I began nearly five nights of deep pain and irregular, rapid heartbeat. By Friday morning, I landed in the local emergency room, due to the rapid heart rate and total exhaustion. I felt hopeless and overwhelmed with fatigue. My heart was restless, and so were my emotions.
After a couple of tests and an IV bag of saline, my heart rate slowed to a comfortable 60 beats per minute. It took a while for me to really sense my heart had slowed; the memory of the racing beats lingered. I even felt myself bracing for when it might get worse again. Eventually, as my kind friend, Alice, turned off the lights in my ER room, stepped out to alert my prayer team, and I rested in my comfortable heart rate, I trusted that my heart had really slowed down.
No sooner had Alice left, then Nancy, another dear friend, slipped into the darkened room to check on me and pray. I thought she was a nurse. I marveled that between Alice and Nancy, I was never alone. This struck me as such a tremendous picture of our God’s loving faithfulness, always with us, even in the dark. These friends, showing me God’s character, encouraged me through a very hard morning. I know it was His loving care for me.
As I thought about my restless, irregular heart, beating wildly because of the diminished red blood cells, the cancer and the chemo, I was struck by a thought. Our ” spiritual hearts”, meaning our souls, are restless, beating wildly after all sorts of things, experiences, people and self – until they find their comfortable, peaceful rhythm in God through a love relationship with Jesus. The peace we have when we finally come home to the Lover of our souls, is just like that calm in the ER room when my heart settled down to a normal pace.
At times, we may have the memory of our wild spiritual heart, but the reality is, it is only a memory, if we have come home to the everlasting arms of love – Jesus. No more bracing. Spiritually, at rest. Then, an amazing marriage happens – our hearts rest in Him and He makes His home in our hearts.
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” – Augustine
May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! – Ephesians 3:17
Please click here for a beautiful song titled Restless: http://youtu.be/pzGrrrP5VLY
