Fix my heart
Life is full of movement. Sometimes it seems good. We might say life is moving along well right now. Or, I’m on the right track. Running my race well.
But sometimes the movement is scary, a storm. Like you’re in a little boat and a storm has come up. The waves are crashing, tossing you to and fro. Or maybe some days you feel like me. Like a tornado somehow came while you were sleeping and you’re not in Kansas anymore.
One thing is sure, where there is life, there will be movement. Good or bad. Happy or sad. Whether the movement is because of our own choices or the choices of others.
A phrase came up in my Bible reading the other day and I have been meditating on it all week. Psalm 108 starts with the words, “O God, my heart is fixed;” Not fixed as in, it was broken and now its not. Not fixed as in, my problems have all been solved. No, the first meaning of fixed in the dictionary is fastened securely in position.
Psalm 108 is a psalm where Israel is asking God for deliverance from their enemies. They felt surrounded on all sides, yet the very first words of the psalmist were, my heart is fixed. The type of movement, the direction, the uncertainty of life didn’t change one thing - his heart was fastened securely in position.
What does it mean to have your heart fixed? This word has fascinated me all week because I love that it doesn't all have to be fixed for your heart to be fixed.
You can have a broken heart and it can still be fixed.
You can be enduring pain and it can still be fixed.
You can be suffering, be uncertain, basically, be a mess, and your heart can still be fixed.
This is the one thing that you can have control over. We can’t always control the movement of our life. Storms come, tornadoes come, but we can fix our heart. We can decide that our faith is unmovable. That our trust cannot be tossed to and fro. We can stand beside God’s word and say, I will not be moved.
I imagine it was this kind of faith that allowed Jesus to sleep on the boat, Paul to endure persecution, Silas to sing in chains.
Its the faith that allows believers today to continue in difficult situations. To face cancer, death, betrayal, financial difficulty, depression, sickness, pain of all types.
The rest of the verse continues, “O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.”
Not only was his heart fixed on God, but he was determined to praise God, no matter what. This praise did not come after God had delivered him from his enemies, but before and no matter if He did or did not. The psalmists heart was fixed on God no matter the direction his life was about to take.
While life moves fast, raging all around me, I believe I can say with the psalmist, my heart is fixed O God. Will you determine today to fix your heart?
