How to have a glad heart

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Heavenly Father, thank you that you have spoken to us in the Scriptures. Help us now to hear your voice, to believe it, and to learn to live by its wisdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

How is your heart? That’s what we’re thinking about this evening. The state of our hearts. That’s because in this evening series on Proverbs, which we’ve called ‘Get Wise’, we’ve got to this beautiful little section Proverbs 15.13-17, which puts the focus on our hearts. You can see that on page 538.

Now if we’re going to get wise about our hearts, we need to be clear what our hearts are. Because of course we’re not talking about that rather vital and powerful muscle between your lungs in the middle of your chest, behind and slightly to the left of your breastbone, which spends its days and years unceasingly pumping blood around your body. No, in Biblical language, your heart is the inmost you, the true you. Our hearts are the source of our desires, emotions, and attitudes. They are the very centre of us. And the heart is one of the themes of Proverbs, because Proverbs is all about learning wisdom for living, and our heart is where our wisdom or our folly are rooted.

If wisdom is the overall theme of Proverbs, and the heart is one of its sub-themes, then the theme of this little section is having a glad heart. So that’s my title this evening: How to have a glad heart. And I’m working on the assumption that (whatever the current state of our heart) we’d all like a glad heart, rather than a bitter and twisted heart, or a miserable heart. Let me also say that I want to use two case studies as we reflect on this. First, the apostle Paul, and then, rather more personal to me, my own father. And there’s one thing it’s good for us to be clear on before we go any further. I asked you ‘how is your heart?’ And maybe that needs a bit of puzzling over, because you’re not immediately quite sure what the answer is. Well, you might not be sure, but God is. He knows our hearts, even if we don’t. So just before our passage is this in Proverbs 15.11:

Sheol and Abbadon [they are the realm of the dead, totally closed to us] lie open before the Lord; how much more the hearts of the children of man!

We can hide nothing from the Lord. Our hearts are an open book to him. And that’s both comforting, and a bit scary. Now I have three headings to help us chew on the bone of these proverbs here. First, the blessing of a glad heart. Secondly, the obstacles in the way of a glad heart. And thirdly, the key to having a glad heart. So:

1. The blessing of a glad heart

Now this little section from Proverbs 15.13-17 might look rather random at first, but in fact it has a clear structure to it, like a poem. It falls into two parts. Part one is Proverbs 15.13-15. The centre of that is Proverbs 15.14, which holds the key to a glad heart. Then, either side of that, like a sandwich, Proverbs 15.15 is a mirror image of Proverbs 15.13. So the start of Proverbs 15.13 is mirrored by the end of Proverbs 15.15:

A glad heart makes a cheerful face…

That’s the beginning of Proverbs 15.13. Then the end Proverbs 15.15:

…but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

Part two is Proverbs 15.16-17, with Proverbs 15.17 being a parallel version of Proverbs 15.16, saying the same thing in a different way, for emphasis. So, as you see, both of those verses begin:

Better is a…

What, then, is the blessing of a glad heart? First, as Proverbs 15.13 says:

A glad heart makes a cheerful face…

That is to say, if the heart inside is glad, that works its way right through us to the outside, and even shows itself in how we look to others. Glad on the inside means cheerful on the outside. And that’s not just a blessing to us. It’s a blessing to others. If there’s ice inside us, it’s going to give everyone near us a chill. But if there’s a fire burning inside us, it’s going to radiate warmth to all who come close. Secondly, as Proverbs 15.5 says:

…the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

That is, if the heart is glad, then whatever else is going on, good, bad or indifferent, our heart will be in a permanent state of celebration. Or to use another word, it will always be joyful. That was exactly what the heart of the apostle Paul was like. So in his Letter to the Philippians, which is drenched in joy despite everything that’s going on in his life, Paul says variously I rejoiced in the Lord, and that he prays with joy, and then also, Yes, and I will rejoice. Past, present and future joy. Paul was a man with a glad heart. Paul’s letters are so revealing of what goes on in his heart (his thinking, his attitudes and his feelings) that despite the two thousand years between him and us we can still have a strong bond with him as our brother (perhaps father is better) in Christ. We get a clear sight of his glad heart.

As I mentioned, more personal still for me was the example of my father. He died a few years ago, so he is with Christ and no longer around for his family. But the example of his glad heart will live with me all my life. He had deep Christian faith. He had considerable success from a worldly perspective in his professional and business life, and also in his family life. And he greatly enjoyed all the good things and the obvious blessings that came his way. When things were going well, he had a glad heart. What impressed me most, though, and lives with me in a way that challenges my own attitudes, was that when things went badly wrong for him in all kinds of ways, he didn’t turn bitter. His heart remained glad. And as the proverb says, a glad heart made a cheerful face.

A glad heart is a powerful blessing. So let me return to my opening question. How is your heart? Are our hearts glad? Are our hearts cheerful? Because learning to live with a glad heart doesn’t come easily. Why? Because of the many things that can get in the way of a glad heart. Which brings me to my next heading from these verses. So:

2. The obstacles in the way of a glad heart

In these verses there are five kinds of obstacles in the way of having a glad heart. Let’s take a look at them. First, there are what you might call internal obstacles. That is to say, what is already going on in our hearts might block the possibility of having a glad heart. And these proverbs recognise the reality of that. So here’s Proverbs 15.13 again:

A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but [and here comes the obstacle] by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

It’s not that sorrow is necessarily the opposite of gladness. Some kinds of sorrow can exist alongside Godly gladness. We can experience joy deep down, at the same time as we’re hurting closer to the surface. But there is a kind of sorrow that uses up all the bandwidth of our hearts, so that we have no room left to listen to the comforting voice of God – no space left in our hearts for gladness to enter and find a home. And when that happens, as the proverb says, our spirit, which is the part of us that connects with God, is crushed. Our communication with God is broken off. And that’s a dangerous state for our hearts to be in. Secondly, there are external obstacles to a glad heart. Proverbs 15.15:

All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

Afflictions can come at us from outside of our hearts. The mortgage goes up. The car breaks down. And there are harder knocks as well. Losing a job. Not getting a job. Our marriage or family life is like a warzone. Bereavement. The person you thought you might one day marry decides to end your relationship. You are persecuted because of your faith. Or suddenly you find yourself seriously ill. And when an external affliction overwhelms our hearts, if we’re not careful that too leaves no room for gladness.

Thirdly, there’s poverty. Proverbs 15.16-17 contrast having just a little, having a dinner of herbs with having great treasure and feasting on fattened ox. That kind of poverty might not be our experience, but if it isn’t, it certainly is for very many of our brothers and sisters in Christ. These verses are urging that even severe poverty should not be allowed to rob us of gladness of heart that does not depend on material prosperity. On my many visits to rural Kenya and our partner church at Mburi, I’ve seen the reality of that – hearts that are joyful in Christ, and cheerful faces, even when it’s hard to put a hearty meal on the table. Fourthly, there’s the obstacle of folly. So much of Proverbs is contrasting the life of Godly wisdom with the life of godless folly, and these verses are no exception. Proverbs 15.14:

The heart of him how has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

If we feed on nutritionally worthless and even poisonous folly and fail to look to God for wisdom, we’re starving our spirits of the healthy food of his word and destroying any prospects of gladness of heart. Fifthly, there’s the obstacle of foolish priorities. Proverbs 15.16 talks of having great treasure and trouble with it, and Proverbs 15.17 of having a fattened ox and hatred with it. If we make material wealth our priority, even if the price of acquiring it in an ungodly way is trouble and hatred, then we are making a deliberate choice to prioritise selfish gain over Godly gladness of heart. Then we shouldn’t be surprised when, to quote the Rolling Stones, we “can’t get no satisfaction” despite our material prosperity.

So, there many potential obstacles to gladness of heart. The apostle Paul knew them in his own life. Even as he writes his letter to the Philippians, he is in prison and facing the prospect of execution. He is as good as on death row. Later in my father’s life, as I said, things went badly wrong for him. The business that he’d spent his life building went bust. In the midst of that brutal process his relationship with his brother broke down. And there were other troubles in our family. He lost almost all his money. And then his health began to collapse too, and his back gave way, and he ended up paraplegic and using a wheelchair. There are many potential obstacles to gladness of heart. What about in our own lives? What are the obstacles to gladness of heart that we’re facing? And how can we get past them? Well, that brings me to my final heading:

3. The key to having a glad heart

It’s Godly wisdom that’s the key to having a glad heart. That’s the burden of these verses – and arguably of the whole book of Proverbs. That’s the only route to overcoming whatever collection of obstacles are trying to block your path to a glad heart. But it’s a route that’s always open, and that no obstacle can in the end prevent us from taking. You can see it there at the centre of this section, in Proverbs 15.14:

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge…

We can add in to that the proverb in Proverbs 22.17, which gives us this invitation and encouragement:

Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge…

And from what does this wisdom and knowledge flow? It flows from the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 15.16 again:

Better is a little with fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.

Fear of the Lord is not being frightened of him – though more of that would not go amiss for most of us. We fear the Lord when we honour him in our lives, and when we give due weight to his words. So again, let me add in to the mix another couple of sayings about the heart from Proverbs.
Proverbs 3.5:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

And in Proverbs 4.4-5, when the wise father speaks, we can hear the voice of our loving heavenly Father:

Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

And alongside a proper fear of the Lord we can place putting love first – love as God defines it for us. So Proverbs 15.17:

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.

Love is what the words of God teaches us about, when we hold fast to them, and when we apply our hearts to them. And above all, the love of God for us. That’s what the gospel teaches us. As we apply our hearts to the words of God, as the disciples on the Emmaus Road found when they met the risen Christ, our hearts burn within us. Luke 24.32:

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

As we apply our hearts to the good news of the love of God for us in Christ, that gospel transforms our hearts. Dead hearts are made alive. Cold hearts are made warm and full of love – love from God, love for God, and love for others. As the Lord promised through the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36.26):

I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you…

And it is such a heart – a new, living heart of flesh, that has the capacity to learn gladness, despite all the obstacles that surround it. Because such a heart learns gladness from the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit lives in our new hearts. And no obstacle can get between our new heart and the Holy Spirit, who teaches us about our Lord and Saviour Jesus, and his love for us, and fills us with an invincible hope, and makes our hearts glad. 1 John 3.16:

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us…

Romans 5.5:

…and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

The Holy Spirit assures us of God’s love for us. God loves you. God loves me. Proverbs 15.14:

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge…

That deep heart knowledge of God’s love for us is the key to having a glad heart – with a gladness and joy that nothing can ever overcome, even when the obstacles press hard in upon us. That’s what the apostle knew when he said in Philippians:

Yes, and I will rejoice…For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain…I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

That is a man with a glad heart. And that’s what he longs for us to know too. As he urges us (Philippian 4.4):

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

It was that faith in Christ which was the reason for my father’s glad heart, even to end of this life, when he was surrounded by troubles. He learned it from Billy Graham at one of his London rallies in the 1950s, and that faith became the bedrock of his life. What about us? How is your heart? As the Proverb says, seek knowledge! A glad heart is a gift from God. If your heart is glad, give thanks and be even more glad. If it isn’t, come to Jesus and keep on asking him for the wisdom and the knowledge of his love from which gladness of heart grows. A glad heart makes a cheerful face. Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, please do that heart surgery on us that we need. Please make us wise. Teach us more and more to apply our hearts to your word, so that we can learn your love for us in Christ ever more deeply. Lord, you know us. You know all the obstacles that surround us. Help us not to let them hinder us from hearing your joyful, life-giving word. Give us glad hearts, that rejoice in you always. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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