Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 NIV.

By Scott Schuler

What do we do when we sense something within our spiritual heart that we know isn’t right with God?

My heart started to flutter. It was a strange sensation I could feel in my chest, randomly and uncontrollably. I was in my thirties at the time, healthy and in shape. Yet I knew something was wrong with my heart and I needed to get answers quickly.

Days later, my blood work, family history and a heart rate monitor revealed a severe heart palpitation. According to my doctor, this wouldn’t jeopardize my well-being. Nevertheless, over twenty years later, each time my heart beats excessively it causes me to pause, wondering if this irregularity in my heart will worsen or cause a problem.

The irregularity, or void, in my physical heart reminds me of the voids in my spiritual heart. What is our spiritual heart?

Our spiritual heart defines who we are.

It is our God-given personality, that element of us that is special and different from everyone else. Because this is also our spirit connection to God, we can be sure the Enemy will do whatever he can to destroy our heart.

1 Peter 5:8 (ESV) warns, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

For years, my spiritual heart was plagued with the idea that I didn’t measure up to the expectations of others. While some portions of my heart were solid and healthy, inferiority became a deep-rooted void, leaving “holes” carved out by failure, broken trust, or life-altering incidents.

We all have heart voids.

Think of a block of swiss cheese. While some areas are solid and smooth, other areas have holes, or voids. In our hearts these voids become deep crevices that fill up with doubt, fear, or sin caused simply by life’s events or personal choices.

The things with which we choose to fill our heart voids will affect our lives.

We strive to fill our voids, in order to feel complete, soothe pain or feel loved. For me, acceptance and perfectionism became the answer. However, I learned that I was still unfulfilled, sometimes to the point of anger. I often felt unworthy and unloved.

When I read about Solomon, the wisest man to ever live who came to the end of his life realizing that he wasted it on meaningless endeavors (Eccl. 12:13), I recognized my own failed attempts to fill these voids.

I started seeing God as a loving father and not a dictator and allowed Him to fill these voids.

God showed me that I needed to be still, asking Jesus to help heal my heart voids. When I did, something miraculous began to happen. I stopped focusing on needing to fill these voids out of my strength. Instead I came to rest in Jesus, Who brought healing in my heart … Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10a ESV

Although my physical heart still flutters and the Enemy attempts to draw my focus to spiritual heart voids, I’ve learned to seek Jesus to guard both. For everything I/we do flows from it.

What heart voids are you struggling to fill with worldly treatments instead of the power of Jesus? Have you asked Jesus to bring healing to these voids?

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