Such Nerve!
A few years ago my wife Jenny had a head on collision with a tree that totaled the car and put her in the hospital. How did it happen? Come to find out Jenny had eaten some bad food and was driving to our son’s house along a busy six lane road, and she passed out. When she lost consciousness the car traversed across three lanes of traffic before miraculously turning directly north into the median and smashing head first into a large tree in the middle of the landscaped island. By God’s grace she did not continue into the three lanes of oncoming traffic at the peak of rush hour. Thank God no one else was injured or no other damage incurred, just her broken collar bone and some bruised ribs. What caused her to pass out?
Each of us have what is called the vagus nerve that comes from the brain stem and connects to vital organs like your heart and stomach. When the vagus nerve is triggered due to fear, pain, stress, standing too long, and so forth, your nervous system is activated along with the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve directly causes the heart to slow down and this leads to the widening of blood vessels. The combination of a slower heart rate and widened blood vessels causes a significant drop in blood pressure. And thus a reduction of blood flow to the brain can result in a temporary loss of consciousness, or fainting. It’s the body’s way of rebooting the system. There’s a direct connection from the brain to the heart.
For as he thinks within himself, so he is. Prov. 23:7
What you think about yourself, you become. Bobby Jones a great golfer said, “Golf is a game of inches. The most important are the six inches between your ears." Your thoughts both good and bad carry a lot of weight. It shows up in the ability to function physically, emotionally and spiritually. Paul in his letter to the church in Philippi addressed dealing with insecurities, anxiety, worries and gave them practical application. They were in all things to pray about it and give thanks. Then he says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The peace of God will come upon both your heart and mind for they are connected. And then he added a very good and strong practice for us to remain in that peace.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8.
Think about these. This week it will do us good to listen, read good content, be refreshed with pure worship music or uplifting songs. Allow for the Word of God to speak into us and renew our minds. Put some quality material in your mind and your heart. And your heart will beat steady and thank you for it. Renewing the mind with His thoughts keeps us from being overwhelmed, shutting down emotionally and spiritually.