My Whole Heart

Henri Matisse Le Negresse Henri Matisse Le Negresse I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1-2

I read this story in a Christian newspaper. It told of a man who became a workaholic. Through hard work, the man became very wealthy in his young days. But it was at a cost. When he was nearly sixty years of age, his private physician diagnosed him with an incurable disease, caused by stress. For nearly a year his doctor administered various remedies, but none worked. Finally the doctor admitted that he had done all that could be done. The doctor recommended that the man visit a minister. The man did as his doctor instructed. And to the minister, the man told his story.

The minister listened and recommended that his instructions be followed exactly. He told the man to read, meditate on, and digest Psalm 23 seven times a day for seven days--- before breakfast, after breakfast, before lunch, after lunch, before supper, after supper, and before retiring for bed. The man was skeptical, but he followed the minister’s suggestion, and his illness vanished.

All of the man's problems came from stress, and he needed God’s Word and meditation, not medication.

Oh, what a need to praise the Lord with our whole heart, for life. Friends, we need to share the hope and healing of Jesus Christ with each other. When we come together, it is for the cause of telling what God has done for us lately. Sharing God’s ways and doings in our life, encourages us to praise Divinity with our whole heart.

     Note: Psalm 23 hyperlink in text above

   Web site: eDevotions.org - art illustrated Christian devotions
   Image credit: Henri Matisse, Le Negresse, 1952, National Gallery of Art, Washington
   Image keywords: abstract, four hearts, negro woman
   Date: July 9, 2000