Introduction
“So we do not lose heart.”
This was one of Paul’s favorite expressions. Paul was always telling people, especially in the midst of struggles—struggles with powers working against the Good News of Jesus, powers that are in opposition to the will of God—don’t lose heart, don’t give up, don’t quit on God—because God hasn’t given up on us.
Even in the ancient world, long removed from science and medicine, people knew the heart was central to life and death. A beating heart meant life. A stopped heart, a heart that had given up, meant death.
Modern day marketers have certainly learned all they have to do to sell something is to put “heart” into it. Food labels proclaim themselves to be “heart healthy” or “heart smart”— a designation that means the food is lower in cholesterol and saturated fats—substances that contribute to heart disease—think the limited edition heart shaped Cheerios.
But “heart” sales go beyond food.
Chevrolet claims to be the “Heartbeat of America.” Our great state of Ohio advertises itself as “The Heart of It All.” This is to say nothing about the unending number of “I Heart” bumper stickers declaring everything from “I heart my Honor Student” to “I heart the Old Latin Mass.”
And it makes sense that we are so heart focused. Heart disease continues to be the great killer among well-fed, stressed-out, exercise- free Americans. But we are suffering from a form of “heartsickness” that has nothing to do with cholesterol, blood sugar, and triglycerides. We are suffering from hearts afflicted by stress, anxiety, fear, division, exasperation, and discouragement—to name just a few afflictions.
So I get it… Take Heart… easier said than done. But it can be done. And the Apostle Paul shows us how.
Move 1
As Paul wrote to the struggling Christian communities he cared about so deeply, he urged them, time and again not to “lose heart.”
Despite being persecuted by religious authorities of the day, ridiculed by pagans, even often misunderstood by other new believers themselves, Paul refused to “lose heart.” In fact, sometimes it seems the worse things got for Paul, the more he would “take heart” instead of letting his heart sink.
In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Paul admits to having felt “afflicted,” “perplexed,” “persecuted” and “struck down”—yet the Apostle’s heart remains intact, even enthusiastic, able to “take heart” and even thrive when any one of the multiple heart breaking instances afflicted him.
It is a way of life that all of us could stand to learn. The question, of course, is how?
Move 2
Now we will get to the how, but before we can it is helpful to consider and acknowledge what sort of issues cause us to “lose heart.”
Fear is certainly high on this list.
We live in safe communities and neighborhoods, but we read and feel how crime and violence and division is pressing in on us more and more. Anyone look at the Facebook Group: Stow Talk of the Town? Unfortunately it’s not always postings about where to find the best pizza.
This is to say nothing about what we keep hearing and seeing happening in schools around the country, schools that were just as safe as ours.
Fear robs us of any sense of security and steadiness in our lives. Chaos reigns supreme. All our Ring cameras and security systems don’t seem to be able to keep it at bay. When our hearts can’t even feel safe at home, we slowly lose heart.
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We have a hard time trusting anyone anymore—we don’t dare reveal our political affiliation or our religious background because we don’t know if someone is “friend or foe”, “woke or tone-deaf” or “snowflake”—and we certainly don’t want to be seen in opposition to another’s position because then a target—or worse—a label is put upon us. We know it is easier and safer to just keep quite.
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We also “lose heart” because we lack confidence in ourselves, our abilities, our worth. We feel so small and insignificant compared to the global problems, the worldwide crises we see constantly on our televisions and devices. Throw in how we see the rich become ultra-rich all while we wonder what we are going to do if that strange knocking sound coming from our car gets any louder. Our sense of purpose and desire to do something meaningful is stunted with thinking that says, “I-think-I-can’t/I-think- I-can’t”. Without confidence to buck up our heart, it falls flat.
How then can we take heart when our hearts have been so shattered that the slightest breeze blows away any bits we might have hoped to cling to?
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All of this, and certainly more, continues to bombard our hearts and spirits. So what becomes key to remember, and what we can must to is that Paul knew the kinds of fears and disappointments, rejections and defeats his Christian brothers and sisters were facing, and would face. He knew from personal experience, the kind of heart disease that would develop from a steady diet of fear, betrayal and failure.
When Paul counsels his fellow Christians in his letters not to “lose heart,” he does so knowing he has found the perfect protection from a broken and dying heart— faith in Jesus Christ.
So there you go—there’s the answer to all your worrying and broken heart woes. Just have faith in Jesus Christ and all will be right with the world.
Well, that might be the end of the sermon from a lesser preacher—but y’all got me! And I know, just as you know, it’s not that simple. And the Apostle Paul knew it wasn’t that simple too. Faith in Jesus is critically important, but faith alone will not keep us from losing heart.
Move 3
You would have had to try pretty hard the past few weeks to avoid hearing and seeing reports of events that were heart losing catalysts. Mass shootings in Colorado and Indianapolis. The George Floyd/Derek Chauvin trial and verdict. Police shootings leading to civil unrest. Politicians shouting each other down. Covid cases rising and vaccines slowing down.
All of it can understandably cause us to lose heart. And the most common way we lose heart is by fixing our gaze solely on the externals, the “outer nature” as Paul calls it.
If Paul had trusted the physical, the temporal, that which is transitory in life, he too would have lost heart. Which is why Paul approached, and lived in the world, on two levels at once—the outer nature and the inner nature.
The outer nature was the place of conflict and despair, persecution and pain. Paul’s physical body was in this “outer nature.” And, like Paul, we too live in the midst of this outer nature. But then there is, says Paul, the “inner nature”, the place of our heart, our spirit, our faith.
Paul could take heart—even in the midst of all he had to bear; the prison sentences he had to serve; the beatings he had to endure; the foolish, selfish Christians he had to try and lead—because he knew none of these could harm his inner nature. He could take heart because he knew that in all there was and is, was and is God. He could take heart because he knew God was at work, in him and around him, for good, for love, for resurrection, and for new life.
But here is the key thing we must take away from this—While that is where Paul was able to be and live, he didn’t just sit there, he didn’t just hide within his “happy place” and lively unto himself and forget the suffering and brokenness around him—not at all.
Rather he spoke about his Christ filled inner nature, he wrote about it, he lived it, he shared it, he inspired it, he worked on behalf of God so others could find it for themselves. To any and all, Paul said, “Even though you have reason, don’t lose heart. Take heart. Because God is working to make all things new.” That was a critical message of hope then and today, and we need to spread it, live it, and share it.
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Yes, times are hard for us all. Look around and it’s easy to lose heart—it’s easy to want to crawl into our happy place and forget about the rest of the world. Which is why we must lean into our faith and remind ourselves that this outer nature, these momentary afflictions, have happened before, but God’s hope, peace, joy, and love has always prevailed. And they prevail when people of faith embolden themselves to not lose heart, but to take heart and hold fast to the truth that God has not given up…and neither should we.
Conclusion
The inner nature in Paul was Christ himself; it was God who created order out of chaos; it was the Holy Spirit who was a constant and abiding presence. No matter what kind of fears assaulted, or doubts assailed him in the outer nature, the Christ within was “renewed day by day” and grew ever stronger.
Paul considered the nature of the outside world a kind of “momentary afflictions” building him up in preparation for the “eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.” Paul had learned how to face and endure the outside world, these momentary afflictions, because he knew it would not always be this way. Paul learned how to not lose heart, but to take heart. We can learn this too. Yes, it will take practice, but we can learn—if we are willing and intentional.
So may we come to know that our inner nature is just like that of Paul’s. And in knowing this truth, may we learn to not lose heart, but to take heart because at the center of our being, is God our Creator who makes life in this world today still something to embrace and live to the fullest because of the hope, peace, joy and love of Jesus. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer: April 25, 2021
Gracious God, you invite us to come to you, and not lose heart, because we can give our worries and our burdens to you. You take from us our concerns, the stresses of life, the challenges of work and relationships, and in exchange you give us peace.
But Holy God, we have to ask … What does peace even look like anymore?
It feels so foreign, so often completely absent from the world we live in.
Jesus, our Savior, is our peace. He is the one who brings calm and quiet and rest. He is the one who promises to be our Prince of Peace. He is the one who died so that we might have peace in knowing we are eternally yours.
These truths of peace are wonderful, but we pray still for you give us tangible moments of peace.
Help us to believe it is possible to experience peace even in the midst of chaos. Then, for having received such a blessing, make us instruments of your peace—those who always spread the truth of Christ and the peace he brought to all.
Keep us ever aware that you have made us for yourself, and called us to be a covenant people; a people set apart—not for privilege, but for service; not for special rights, but for responsibility.
Empower us to put our loyalty in you and your kingdom, making it that our values and priorities, our pursuits and passions reflect your heart— a heart of love for all, a heart of justice for the maligned, a heart of compassion for the broken.
Holy God, we are filled with joy knowing this outer nature will never overpower the inner nature you have given us. Help us then, to live from this inner nature as Christ has shown us—as those who can live in the world, but not be of this world. For that is the heart you call us to have, and to share.
May you hear now the prayers we offer to you now, in this time of holy silence.
All this we pray in the name of Christ Jesus, risen Lord, our Prince of Peace, who taught us to pray saying, “Our…”