~ written by Connie Dunmyer
The song above comes from a true story. A heart surgeon attended the church of a pastor who always wanted to see a heart surgery. And the pastor was given permission to watch. The pastor saw them cut open the woman’s chest, lift out the heart, make the repairs and replace it back into her chest. But after doing all the procedures to restart the heart, it would not start. It would not beat. And the pastor watched as this surgeon got down on his knees beside the face of his patient and said: “Miss Johnson, this is your surgeon. The operation went perfectly. Your heart has been repaired. Now tell your heart to beat again.” Miraculously, her heart immediately started beating.
A few months ago, there was a day that my own beloved was the one on a heart-operating-table. Though I did not “get to watch”, the surgical team kept me informed of the various phases via a beeper, including that moment when they “turned off his heart” so they could lift it out of his chest and repair it. While waiting, I attended a class that explained that particular phase lasts between 2-4 hours. And that when they put his heart back in his chest and it starts to beat on its own, I should make myself immediately available to speak with the surgeon. My daughter and I calculated and set our expectations based upon the “soonest” and “longest” times. So you can imagine our shock, and ultimate fear, when we were “beeped” in one hour, not two. We literally ran through Cleveland Clinic, while I called our cardiac nurse begging for more information. Thank God, our fears were completely unfounded. Dana had instead exceeded expectations! The surgery went better than perfect. He was only on by-pass for a total of 1 hour 20 minutes, and the surgeon confirmed to us that his heart was beating strong! All glory to the Father!
But there was another day some 30 years ago. Dana and I were in limbo. Every pastoral door was being slammed in our faces. My normally very optimistic husband was struggling with his identity and what God wanted him to do or be. He was becoming a mere shell of himself. He had lost his hope.
I had taken a few days away to visit a friend in another state. She worked in a Christian Book store, so I met up with her there. While I was waiting, I "happened" upon a book, “The Dream Giver”, by Bruce Wilkinson. I knew nothing about it, but the word “Dream” jumped out at me and so I bought it. I brought it home to my husband and said “It’s time for you to dream again.” He needed to tell his heart to beat again. And like “Miss Johnson”, Dana’s heart did miraculously start beating (& dreaming) again. ["The Dream Giver" has since become an anthem for our family, and has been gifted to more people than I can count. I highly recommend it.]
Psalm 51:10 says “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
In Hebrew the word for "heart" is LEV, which is the seat of all emotions, thought and will. Jeremiah 17:9 describes the human heart as “desperately wicked”. In Matthew 15:19-20, Jesus said that the heart is the source of all our uncleanness, moral defilement, and perversity.
The word for “create” is BARA, which is a verb exclusively used for God’s creation of the cosmos. David was appealing to God to “create out of nothing”. “The earth was without form and void…”, BUT GOD CREATED! (Genesis 1:1-2).
David is begging God for a brand new heart! Not one that is white-washed and simply "limping" along. Not one that is irregular or in need of a pacemaker. David recognizes the human heart can NEVER be good enough. He is begging God to open his proverbial chest, take out his heart, fit him with a new heart that is focused on God, and put him back together.
Thanks be to Jesus, He has done that for us by His sacrifice. We simply need to accept that gift of a “created clean heart” and agree with our new heart to beat for God.
May I also suggest that there are times in our lives when we have been so shattered, so broken, that our hearts no longer beat. At least they don’t beat in time with God’s heart. It’s not even necessarily sin in our lives. But it’s the scar tissue and the pain and the inescapable darkness that can settle in. We give up. It hurts too much to hope again.
The enemy whispers, “It’s too late. There’s nothing left. You can never recover. You’ll be stuck here forever.”
But Jesus says “I am the Great Physician. I have given you a new heart. A clean heart. Oh my dear child, it’s ok. You’re ok. You can love again. You can forgive again. You can be restored. You can live again. You just need to tell your heart to beat again.”
The choice is mine. The choice is yours.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
If you’ve fallen, it’s time to get back up. I’ve been down on the ground more times than I can count. I know it’s hard. But we’ve been given a new heart… a clean heart… created out of nothing by the Creator of the Universe. It’s time we get into agreement with that new clean heart and recognize that we can do all things, and even go through all things, with Christ Who is right here strengthening each of us. (Philippians 4:13)
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© 2026: Connie F. Dunmyer, All Rights Reserved.