Protecting Your Heart
Staying Off the Disabled List
by David Jeremiah

(Excerpt from the February, 2006 Turning Points Magazine & Devotional)

Real life is often more rough-and-tumble than football. Every new day is a series of downs for us, and the devil is always looking for a sack. Some days we gain yardage; other days we feel like it's three-and-out. Our teenager comes and tells us something, and we're slammed in the gut. We find a rough patch of skin, sending us to the doctor with apprehension. We have a conflict with someone at church. We're tired, but we have to put in overtime because the bills are due.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." The Holman Christian Standard Version says it this way: "Do not grieve, because your strength comes from rejoicing in the Lord."

God, in His love, sent His Son Jesus Christ to become a man who died on the cross for us. His blood provides a basis for reconciliation with God, giving us eternal life. When we confess Him as Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead, we are saved from sin, pardoned, and redeemed from sin's penalty.

The resulting sense of hope, optimism, and eternal joy is like an invisible helmet surrounding our heads and protecting our hearts. Try visualizing it that way! As long as the hope of salvation surrounds our minds, we'll stay off the disabled list.

The Body Pads
According to the Bible, we have something similar to football padding on a spiritual level-the commitment to a righteous life. Paul called it the "breastplate of righteousness" (Ephesians 6:14).

Consider this: What happens when we sin? When we tell a small lie? When we lose our temper? When we harbor resentment? We become vulnerable to the ravages of guilt. We lose spiritual power in our lives. We start spinning a web of deceit that can grow to massive proportions over time. We lose the respect of those we love, and we lose self-respect. The devil gains an advantage over us, and we end up on the disabled list.

When we're determined to maintain our integrity, to live in daily obedience to God and to maintain godly attitudes in our heart, it's like an effective set of body pads that ward off the blows of the enemy. It protects the heart.

Adam Everett, shortstop with the Houston Astros, told Sports Spectrum that as a Christian, he works hard to maintain his moral integrity during road trips. He said, "The temptations are there, but if you don't put yourself in these situations, it's not going to be a problem. When I'm on the road, I like to stay in my room and order room service. Or go out with some of the Christian guys. But I never go out to go out. I don't enjoy it. I love my wife, and I take my marriage very personally and to heart. Whenever you commit to those vows, they're for life."

He may be a baseball player, but he's dressed out in shoulder pads. Are you? Perhaps there are some commitments you need to make to protect your heart.

The Shoes
For the Christian, our feet need to be shod with "the preparation of the Gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15). The footnote in one of my Bibles explains it as being "ready to tell others about the Gospel."

The Lord gives each of us our own opportunities for proclaiming the Gospel. The Bible says, "How beautiful . . . are the feet of him who brings good news" (Isaiah 52:7). There's just nothing like sharing Christ with someone else. And winning another to the Lord is a joy that protects our own hearts as well, giving us a purposeful sense of fulfillment in life.

The right equipment will keep you off the disabled list. Make sure you're dressed out with the proper helmet, which is salvation, and with the shoulder pads of righteousness. And don't forget the footwear of a faithful witness. Put on the whole uniform-the whole armor of God. It will protect your heart from the rough-and-tough scrimmages of everyday life.

Monday, September 15, 2008