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Read: Psalm 73:23-26 On this morning, I heard the weather man announce that our international airport broke the record on this March day of -40 C. In contrast, the city core registered a much “warmer” temperature of “only” -30 C! I am reminded of an old saying for those of us who sometimes have cold hands – ‘cold hands, warm heart’.
In the winter, temperatures are often warmer in the heart or inner core of the city than in the outer fringes or rural areas. The reason is that heat is generated and usually maintained in greater measure in more densely populated areas surrounded by tall and large buildings. In more open areas the heat quickly dissipates in all directions.
In a spiritual sense, there are signs of colder temperatures. This is easily seen in the cold hands of increasing numbers of people who point to what they believe are many different ways to God. A pastor friend of mine just told me of a university student – a solid Christian girl who is now being attracted to another student whose father is a “universalist”. This father happens to be an experienced pastor in a major “evangelical” denomination but who now refuses to believe that Jesus is the only way to God. His cold hands reflect a cold heart pointing his son and others away from our Savior and the only way to life in God, our Heavenly Father.
What can we do in the face of spiritually cold hearts? Act immediately to yield your heart to the warm loving heart of God. “Draw close to God and He will draw close to you” (James 4:8, NLT). God clearly warns that He hates lukewarm-ness and requires us to be “hot” after Him (Revelation 3:14-15). Feed your heart with the word of God. Tune your ears to hear His voice. Fix your spiritual eyes on God alone as the priority of your daily life. Believe with the Psalmist:
“Yet I am always with you;You hold me with your right hand,You guide me with your counsel,And afterward, you will take me into glory” (Psalm73:23-24)
Meditate on and memorize these words. Let them draw you deeper into God and ignite your heart with the divine “warmth” of His love. Feast your heart on these rich intimate words “…with you …hold me…guide me…take me”. Then commit the next two verses to memory and let them defrost your inner core and infuse your heart with the passion of His love and grace:
Whom have I in Heaven but you?And earth has nothing I desire besides you.My flesh and my (physical) heart may fail,But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!” (Psalm 73:25-26)
Dr. Stewart Brown
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