Heart Exercise
Acts 28:27 KJV
(27) For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
A large volume of verbiage alone does not a healthy relationship make. It’s a bit like food- while it’s essential to living, if it is only ingested in excess without a corresponding amount of expending of its energy, it will only bring obesity, high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries. Though there is a great deal being spoken, for every phrase that is heard, but disregarded, there is a distancing of hearts rather than a bonding, and there is a lessening of an ability to act effectively on subsequent impartations. For understanding to be gained from what is being heard there is a required response and action. Otherwise, although words are coming to the ears, nothing is getting in to where the action really takes place- in the heart.
One of the most frustrating things in a family is when something is being spoken, but there is no response at all, almost as if the ‘hearer’ is deaf. This most frequently takes place when a great deal is being spoken while the attention of the ‘hearer’ is focused intently on something else. Dad is zeroed in on the last two minutes of a March Madness basketball game just when Mom or one of the children approaches him with a story about the day or an important request. It’s not that he doesn’t care about them, but at the moment when response is most necessary, the ears are already full and the capacity for understanding is temporarily disabled. Mom, on the other hand, may be locked into a phone conversation with a long lost friend or just some very ‘interesting’ information that renders her completely incommunicado to the rest of the family. Until ‘goodbye’ is heard, it is quite meaningless to speak any words her direction or especially expect any specific action. It, again, isn’t that there isn’t a heart for her family, it’s just that for those moments her ears are already full. And finally, the children engrossed in their video games, television shows, or Myspace have severely reduced capacity to understand a single word being spoken to them by a concerned and increasingly aggravated parent. Though they may respond with a practiced, ‘yes, I’ll do that’, if there isn’t an immediate performance of that promise, there is just a further ingrained behavior of doing very little with what is being heard (from the parent that is).
It’s not that there isn’t enough being spoken or heard in our relationship with a Father that has so many interesting stories and essential directives, but it might be that there is a sports event, a conversation, or the latest video game that is disabling our needed response. With every Word He’s spoken there is a necessary action, an acknowledgement and honor of Him that is appropriate, otherwise, while it may not be that we don’t care or have a heart for Him, our lack of response is inadvertently a declaration of dishonor and placement of Him below those other focuses in life. With the repetition of this inaction to His words there is a further dulling of the heart to its ability to experience the healing and blessing that requires a lean and active heart.
There is deliverance, exodus, freedom and incredible fellowship for the heart that will turn away from other things for a moment to actually hear and respond to the reality and truth of the Father’s words. In an honored acknowledgement with action, life will be given to faith and great expectation and confidence gained for the salvation that is in His hand. The volume of words being ‘heard’ will only be understood as they are put to use in an obedient response. In an exercised and lean heart will be the joy and strength of fellowship in the presence of the Lord.
