Check Engine Lights: 5 diagnostics for your heart
(Hey Youth Pastor, How’s Your Heart? (Part 6)
A while back my wife’s check engine light came on in her van. Instant panic.
I borrowed a code reader from a friend and found the problem. Thankfully it was a minor issue, easy to fix. A fuse needed to be replaced so $5 and an hour later we were back in business.
It was a cheap fix, but left unchecked it could have caused a bigger problem down the road. Our hearts are the same way. What we ignore today can break us tomorrow. We need to do the maintenance on our hearts if we want to stay healthy.
I’ve never met someone who said “I want to burn out.”But why does that seem to happen to so many people?
We need to get better at reading the dash lights in our hearts. If we ignore them, we’re setting ourselves up for failure.
(True story: I had a friend who would cover warning lights in their car with stickers instead of fixing them)
David asked God to help him see those check engine lights in his own heart when he prayed
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23-24
King David understood that his success on the path following Jesus was linked to the contents of his heart. We need to do the same kind of inventory with God that he did.
So what are we looking for when we scan the dash? What are the warning signs that matter? I want to give 5 simple “warning lights” to watch for to keep you “in the way everlasting.”
Warning Light #1: Avoidance
Are you avoiding something or someone? Maybe there’s a conversation that you’ve known needs to happen but you’ve been putting it off. Maybe it’s something small on the to-do list, but you keep finding ways to skip it.
Avoidance can seem insignificant, but it’s often an early warning light. It doesn’t mean things have gone wrong, but if you let it go unchecked it could lead to a larger problem. Take a step today to move forward in any area you’ve been avoiding.
Warning Light #2: Busyness
Busyness can feel productive, maybe even noble, but running at the redline isn’t sustainable. Usually our justification of being overly busy is that it’s a “season”, but don’t forget that seasons usually only last a few months at most. Be sure that this season has an end and you return to healthier rhythms.
If you’re too busy right now, talk to someone about what you can and should change.
Warning Light #3: Isolation
When we’re alone, we’re in danger. I’m not advocating that we all become extroverts and spend every waking moment around large groups of people, but we have to watch ourselves for a tendency to pull away.
This might look like spending more time in your office than you need to, or more time with your headphones in. Maybe you start taking less meetings, maybe you justify it with the busyness. This could look like being in the room with people but not sharing what you’re thinking. The simple step to take here is to invite someone in. If you see yourself isolating, tell someone and ask for their help.
Warning Light #4: Apathy
Apathy isn’t usually a warning light that blinks on it’s own. Apathy is often the result of other areas that need our attention.
For me, this one looks like a lack of vision for the future. Personally, professionally, for the ministry I lead, the word that I usually use is “stuck”. Everything is still happening, but the passion is empty in it for me. This is a hard place to be and can feel hopeless if you let yourself get deep enough into it. Don’t miss this warning light. Do some deep dive with Jesus to see what’s causing that.
Warning Light #4: Frustration
We can usually see this light pretty clearly. It feels like it’s blinking red in the center of the windshield. However, I think we often misdiagnose it. We’re quick to see frustrations as external problems. Our irritability is because the kids are loud, or because of a disagreement with a co-worker that should think more like us.
Those challenges aren’t out of the ordinary, but when our responses to them begin to escalate we need to look inward. We can blame what’s out there when the real issue is internal. What’s going on inside that’s making my reaction come out this way?
Frustration is usually a secondary symptom to some of the other warning lights. You need consider which other areas you’re seeing a problem in and work on those.
Solving the problems:
Heart issues are among the most deadly for all of us. We need to keep a close eye on these warning lights, but what should we do?
Some of these have natural solutions. If you’re too busy, slow down, etc. But overall the keys to keeping our hearts healthy don’t change.
We need to walk in an active relationship with Jesus.
We need to be connected to our local churches.
We need to teams of people around us helping hold us up and pointing out our blind spots.
We need to fight to find our identity in God.
The one who made your heart knows what it needs. Turn to Him, pray like David, “God show me what you want to deal with inside of me. Lead me in your way.”
If this is helpful, share it with someone! I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, or in a message. If there’s any topics you’d like to see covered, let me know!