Jessica Christine Musgrove

Author. Singer. Storyteller.

Strengthen Your Heart

James 5:8 says, “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”

What does it mean to strengthen your heart? A cardiologist might tell you to eat heart-healthy meals, to get plenty of exercise, to stay hydrated, and to drink less caffeine. But this verse is not talking about our physical hearts but our spiritual hearts. We must first know what our spiritual heart is.

If you research Strong’s definition within Blue Letter Bible, it defines the heart as “the centre and seat of spiritual life…the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, and endeavours.” Strong’s definition takes it a step further by defining the heart as a person’s “will and character” and also the soul of a person “so far as it is affected and stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions…the middle or central or inmost part of anything.”

Simply put…your heart is YOU.

And this verse is telling us that we need to be strengthened. Why?

Matthew 5:19 says, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and slanderous statements.”

Ouch. That’s a lot of evil. And it comes out of us because of our sin natures.

Mark 12:30 says, “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

Someone might think, “But if my heart is as twisted as Matthew 5 states, how can I possibly love God with all my heart?”

Friends, the only way to love God is to first follow Him and trust in Him and His Son, Jesus, who paid the price for our sins and conquered sin and death. When we surrender our hearts, ourselves, to Him, we are covered by the blood of Jesus. That means when God looks at us, He sees that we have been marked with Jesus. With life. That means we have been adopted as His son or daughter and are no longer our own. We belong to Him.

Salvation through Christ Jesus must come first. Always.

Then, there’s this wonderful process called sanctification, where we are continually learning to become more like Christ. This takes place in the here and now. As seeds who have been planted in Christ, we are to grow in Him. To grow in our knowledge, understanding, love, and obedience of our Savior who gave everything for us. We begin as spiritual babies, but sanctification is the process of spiritual growth.

In looking at James 5, we need to be aware that the context surrounding the commandment to “strengthen [our] hearts” has to do with suffering. Because of the fallenness of our world, there is much suffering. Sometimes suffering is circumstantial, sometimes it’s relational, sometimes it’s physical, sometimes it’s mental and spiritual, and sometimes it’s a blend. Regardless, suffering is suffering.

Before we get to the command of strengthening our hearts, James tells us to be patient, because the Lord is coming! We have an eternal promise that one day, every tear will be wiped away, every hardship erased. Suffering will be no more, and each passing second brings us closer to that glorious day.

The way we get through every suffering here on earth is through patience and strength. But here’s the kicker:

James 5:8 puts it on us to strengthen our hearts. He says, “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts…”

Inspecting the word “strengthen” through the word study provided by Blue Letter Bible, the word strengthen means “to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix…to render constant, confirm, one’s mind.” Strong’s definition says to literally “turn resolutely in a certain direction…to establish.”

That sounds a lot like repentance.

That also sounds like the verse found in Hebrews 12:2 – “…looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We must fix our gaze on Jesus. He is our perfect example. He IS our strength. II Thessalonians 3:3 says, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” That doesn’t mean we won’t ever suffer, but it does mean that because of His promise, we are held safely in His hand. Our home is with Him in His kingdom, so we do not need to be afraid.

When we mess up, when we inevitably fail, for those who belong to Jesus, it is an opportunity to rise up, to repent, to put on the full armor of God, to ask Him for help, and to follow His footsteps as He teaches us how to overcome. We will always find His Truth in His Word; we can always access Him through prayer; we can always depend on His Holy Spirit to give us understanding, to guide us, and to comfort us through every hardship.

He is always with us!

We literally strengthen our hearts by dwelling on Jesus. This is not a task that gets checked off. This is a way of life.

Dear Friend,

Are you dwelling on Jesus as though He is oxygen to your lungs? He is our Breath of Life! Every moment we have on this earth is a moment to glorify Him, to worship Him, to run to Him, to spend with Him, to invite Him in, to remain in Truth, to live solely for the One who has set. you. free.

That freedom comes with the call to lay down yourself, to give up yourself, to completely let go. God wants our hearts. All of it. In fact, He requires it.

He is worthy of it all!

I pray you will let that sink in to the depths of your soul and propel you to dig deeper into the wealth of His truth and wisdom. We don’t need our circumstances to change, for when we are looking at Jesus, when we are looking at our lives through His lens of grace, He will change US.

And He is all we need.

I am weak, but He is strong.

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