Heart Murmur
“O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners
of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.”
~ Augustine of Hippo
I was in my late teens when our family physician discovered that I had developed a heart murmur. He did not seem concerned and explained that many healthy children can develop this condition, which often tends to occur after a rapid growth spurt. Still, the doctor assured me that most children eventually outgrow it as they reach adulthood. Therefore, the term “innocent” is medically used to describe these murmurs since no long-term heart conditions nor any other serious medical concerns are associated with them.
Without a doctor who had the right skills and experience, I would never have known I had a heart murmur, which tests revealed to be “innocent.” Often, what is true in the physical domain correlates with the spiritual realm. We cannot determine the condition of our core being without the Holy Spirit revealing it to us. As Jeremiah 17:9 articulates, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (ESV).
Through His Spirit, God convicts us of sin and shows us the actual condition of our hearts. Romans 2:4 explains that God’s kindness leads to repentance. We can respond to this kindness in one of two ways: 1) by seeking God’s forgiveness and asking Him to create a new heart within us, or 2) by ignoring the Holy Spirit’s promptings and becoming hard-hearted, thus refusing to submit to God’s kindness.
The refusal to submit to God is the hallmark of an Egyptian pharaoh’s life story in the book of Exodus. Several years had passed after Joseph’s death and, by then, a new pharaoh came to power, knowing nothing personally about Joseph nor the God of the Israelites. The fact that the Israelite community was thriving by increasing in number greatly concerned the ruling pharaoh and his advisors, so they decided to subdue and enslave them. This injustice caused the Israelites to cry out to God who, seeing their misery, put the wheel into motion to redeem His oppressed people.
In response to their plight, the Lord raised up Moses to be their deliverer – sending him, along with his brother Aaron, to confront "Pharaoh” and demand that the Egyptian king let the Israelites go. But even as Moses obediently heeded the Lord’s instructions and advocated on behalf of His people, the newly chosen Israelite leader was forewarned in Exodus 4:21 that God would “harden [Pharaoh’s] heart, so that he will not let the people go.”
From a human perspective, the Lord’s decision to stiffen Pharaoh’s heart is a difficult concept to comprehend. Did God actually make Pharaoh hard-hearted? And, if so, what choice did Pharaoh have concerning his actions? After all, it hardly seemed fair for God to punish Pharaoh for the decisions he made after his heart was hardened. Or could it be that God had given Moses a prophetic word regarding how Pharaoh would respond?
When God commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh, demanding the release of the children of Israel, He knew the Egyptian ruler would refuse to listen because of his wicked state of heart. God, in His mercy, gave three signs to demonstrate to Pharaoh that He was with His servant Moses who advocated on behalf of His suffering people. Still, Pharaoh refused to yield to God. After repeatedly exercising his defiance, Pharaoh personally witnessed the eventual unleashing of ten plagues which affected Egypt as a whole and exhibited the absolute authority and sovereignty of the God of Israel.
A feasible reason for Pharaoh’s initial refusal to let the Israelites leave was the fact that they were integral to Egypt’s economy. The implications of losing the country’s slave labour would have been devastating and, therefore, unthinkable. However, Pharaoh’s primary reason stemmed from a heart that had a deep-seated hatred for the people of Israel. Ultimately, his hard-hearted mindset made matters worse for him and his people. In addition, God, who righteously judges the heart, gave Pharaoh over to his prideful desire for self-seeking glory and the natural consequences of his sinful condition. Through it, the Lord demonstrated the sovereignty of His power and, as a result, rightfully received all the glory.
Who are the “pharaohs” of today? Kim Jong-un of North Korea, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Ismail Haniyeh of the Hamas terrorist group, as well as President Xi Jinping of China, are all examples of modern-day pharaohs – those who persecute the children of God with calculated malevolence. We must pray that these leaders and all of their ilk will respond by humbly submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and duly honouring Him through their personal lives and leadership.
However, before we confront such leaders, a more significant question would be to ask ourselves, “Am I a pharaoh?” Proverbs 4:23 instructs: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” The lesson we learned from the pharaoh referenced in Exodus chapter 4 is that each of us must be aware of our own heart condition. To do so, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and expose any hardness that lies within. There are no “innocent” heart conditions before the Lord. As King David prayed in Psalm 19:12-14: “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent fom hidden faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.”
A spiritual heart murmur can be a temporary condition that corrects itself over time or a symptom of a much larger problem. Ignorance in either case is not the solution. Knowing the situation helps us to make necessary adjustments and respond in a way that will consequently improve the quality of our lives.
A healthy physical heart makes a “lub-dub” sound as it beats. The “lub” (systolic sound) happens when part of the heart contracts and the mitral and tricuspid valves close, and the “dub” (diastolic sound) occurs when part of the heart relaxes and the aortic and pulmonic valves close. A heart murmur can be detected if an extra sound is heard during the course of a heartbeat. Described as a “whooshing” sound, this symptom occurs when there’s a turbulent flow of blood moving through the heart valves.1
In the spiritual context, I pray the “whooshing” sound taking place in our souls would not represent the disorder that leads to a hardened heart, but rather the sound of the Holy Spirit moving within to soften and regenerate a sin-sick heart before the condition becomes fatal. Only then can we step forward in the power of God to proclaim His glory and majesty to the pharaohs of today’s world whose attempts to enslave His children will ultimately be proven futile as recorded historically in the book of Exodus. More important are the eternal ramifications which will be justly based on the true condition of the human heart.
Until then, may we regularly check the spiritual condition of our own hearts so that we may be counted as worthy representatives of our Lord and His persecuted people.
Grace and peace,
Floyd A. Brobbel
Chief Executive Officer
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada Inc.
Endnote: 1MedicalNewsToday.com/articles/heart-murmur-sounds
