Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Have you ever wondered how your brain works? How do brains make sense of the vibrations passing through the ears? How can it translate so many consonants and vowels, stops and starts, and decipher the meaning of in-coming communication?

How do brains retrieve what the eyes see? (And how in the world do eyes see?) The brain assigns meaning to shapes, colors, textures, and designs. It perceives nuances in facial expressions and reads another’s eyes to interpret meaning that words cannot express.

How do brains know how to oversee the mixture of chemicals, nutrients and hormones to operate our internal organs? How does a brain connect with the electronics of the nervous system or regulate the ebb and flow of the blood supply? Surely we have a Creator. Our bodies testify to that fact.

The problem for many is when the body does not work right. Not everyone was born with a well-functioning brain. Some are certainly more gifted with intelligence than others. I feel a bit envious when someone is not only a Rhodes Scholar but a brilliant musician and athlete as well. Some children, like my brother, were born with damaged brains; others experience tragic accidents or suffer from the side effects of addictions. Older brains get tired and worn out; memory file drawers get stuck.

This may seem like a strange message for the start of another year, but I need to re-evaluate what is important, especially when my brain no longer works like it used to. God doesn’t talk a lot about brains in the Bible. He talks a lot about hearts.

We may not have much choice about how well our brains function, but we have a tremendous choice about how our spiritual hearts function. We can turn to the One who created our brains and invite Him to renew our hearts. We can study His Word to learn His ways, worship Him, and listen to Him speak to our hearts through prayer. We can even walk with others who share the same heart. God’s Word encourages with these words for our hearts.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me [Jesus]. (John 14:1)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (Second Corinthians 4:16-18).

Have a blessed, heart-rich 2013!