Psalm 73:26 says my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. That is a powerful verse that reminds us of several very important things. For one, it reminds us that in this fallen world there are times when we grow weary and our hearts fail. The battle sometimes gets intense, and we grow wearing fighting the good fight of faith, and discouragement comes. If this is your normal condition, then something is wrong that needs to be healed and fixed on a permanent level. This should never be the normal condition of the spirit filled Christian who is seeking God with all their heart, but even the strongest Christian have these moments from time to time.
It’s so encouraging to know, that when we find ourselves in these places, God doesn’t come to us to condemn us. He, even more than we do, understands that we are still dust, living in a fallen world. It’s also encouraging to know, that even the most spiritual believer, those who’ve learned to walk by faith, and those whose hearts burn to be fully surrendered to the will of God, will experience spiritual heart failure. This shouldn’t surprise us, because the heart is really the target of all the warfare the enemy throws at us. Do you have the ability in Christ to not go through these times? Of course we do, but every honest believer that I know, will confess that there have been those times when their heart has failed, even if it’s rare.
In my 36 year walk with the Lord there have been those occasions when I have felt too weary to go on because my heart had failed as result of the intense battle, usually in the form of deep disappointment or betrayal, or simply my own fallenness. In those times, I have cried out, “Lord if you don’t keep me, I am sunk.” As I look back over the years I realize that not only did He not condemn me, but He always came to me and became the strength of my heart, and in new ways revealed Himself to me that He was my true portion forever. Not only did He frustrate the enemies plan, but in profound ways He became the true love of my life like never before. I always ended up trusting Him more and loving Him more.
In those times when He is all that you have, you discover He is all that you need. I, every time, found myself leaning and loving more fiercely. Each time, He grooved out something more deeply in me. Something deep and permanent was wrought in my soul.
Beloved of Jesus, know that when your heart fails, Jesus will come and be the strength of your heart, and in new solidifying ways your portion forever. You will come out, different, gloriously different. HE WINS, HE ALWAYS WINS.