My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Psalm 57:7 NIV
The other day I saw “CPR” in big letters promoting a safety course. I immediately wondered where I might need CPR in my life.
Is it my age? Possibly. Or it could be because of my husband’s death. Maybe it’s a combination of the two. The unavoidable mixed with the unexpected is bound to lead to deep reflection on life.
I need CPR. I think about how precious life is, how we are contradictions at best, and how crimson red makes us white as snow.
Tomorrow is gone in a flash, and it will not return. Time is the one thing that doesn’t wait on anyone, that and concrete (something my husband use to always say). What did I invest in today? A loved one, a friend, a job? Was it an investment worthy of my efforts? Will it outlast me? Is it important that any of it outlasts me?
While you can impact people with words (and words are powerful), they will ultimately remember how you made them feel. Have I taken the time today to connect with the people I have interacted with? Did I do a good job … and is good, good enough? Who defines good? If there’s one thing I do know, good is not self-referencing.
We’re complicated and layered. I praise God and then cuss with the same mouth. It’s not my habit, but it’s not foreign to me either. And so I know what it means to quench the Holy Spirit. I feel it.
I’m broken, yet—in Christ—I am healed. I want to learn how to walk in my healing that was paid for in blood. I want to function confidently in His love—His love that conquers my evil and turns it into something beautiful.
I’ve learned, sometimes painfully, that for every judgment I make on someone else I have an equivalent sin. It may be dressed a little differently, but the heart condition and sin nature behind it is the same.
My prayers are changing because of that realization. When I pray for someone to have insight into their situation, I pray the same for myself. Whenever I pray for someone to break free from their area of struggle, I pray I will break free, too. If I want others to realize habits they need to change, I pray I will recognize and change my own.
I do need some CPR, but not exactly pulmonary resuscitation. I need to be reminded of my Christ-Paid Restoration. It’s life giving and revives what is dead. Dreams, hopes, prayers, goals, and, most importantly, our lives.
We were dead, headed to a grave of hell until we grabbed hold of the outstretched hand of the Savior. He breathed life into us. He alone has the insight into life that can help us navigate in whatever situation and wherever we find ourselves. Not that we get to understand it all, but we can rest in the One who does.
My mouth is capable of praise and foul language. I’m broken and I’m healed. I’m not worthy of God’s love, but, somehow He thinks I’m worthy of His Son’s death. The crimson blood of Christ is as fresh and viable today as it was on Calvary.
Life can be a bumpy ride. But let Christ breathe His CPR into your life, and you’ll learn not to be so hard on yourself. You have somewhere to go to when it’s time to dance in your joy or cry in pain. You’ll have Someone to talk to, who cares, who listens, and who has answers.
Christ found me before I knew I was lost. He loved me before I knew what love was. His love embraced me just like I was when He found me. Better yet, He loved me just like I was when I found Him.
NOW LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
Self-Reflection
These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.
This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take the truths you discover about yourself and hold them up to the Light to evaluate them against who God says you are.
Is there a purpose to contradictions? Explain?
Do you feel God can love us despite our contradictions?
Can people love us when they discover contradictions in us?
Can you accept people who have various contradictions?
What is the deal breaker contradiction?
Talk to God about your answers. Give Him praise, ask Him questions and then listen for His gentle response.
Take Action
Use God’s word to take control over the traumas in your life. Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises in His word.
Here is a scripture for you to print, cut and carry with you and/or post in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Psalm 57:7 NIV
When you read God’s word say to yourself: No matter what comes my way and no matter who leaves, my heart is fixed on you, God. I will praise You in the storm and I will rejoice in Your unfailing love and faithfulness…through all of life.
