Doesn’t the Bible say a lot about the heart in connection to our health?

on Apr 8, 2024

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: There’s an ad on television about getting a medical-grade EKG through an app on a mobile phone. The ad asks the question, “How’s your heart? I used this as an illustration to friends I was talking to about the Lord. They thought it was cool that a computer could calculate the heart’s condition, but rejected that God our Creator knows the condition of every human heart. Doesn’t the Bible say a lot about the heart in connection to our health? – H.C.

A: The heart beats about 100,000 strokes every 24 hours. It contracts about 4,000 times an hour. Our entire blood supply circulates through our hearts every four minutes. No wonder doctors urge us to take care of our hearts.

As amazing as it is, when Scripture talks about the heart, it’s not talking about the life-sustaining muscle. It is talking about our entire inner being. The heart symbolizes the center of our moral, spiritual, and intellectual life. It is the seat of our conscience and life.

“Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV). “A heart at peace gives life to the body” (Proverbs 14:30, NIV). “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22, NIV).

God does indeed know our hearts well. Almighty God searches our hearts, weighs our hearts by the teaching of Scripture, opens our hearts to His truth, and gives us new hearts when we come to Christ — hearts of flesh sensitive to His presence, His leading, and His love. We must never hesitate to take to Him in prayer whatever is on our hearts. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10, ESV).

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)