My heart attack recovery. After surviving a heart attack, I share my six powerful lessons I never want to forget about God and why gratitude is so important.
I share my personal experience surviving a heart attack and the lessons it taught me about God and gratitude.
This honest reflection explores the warning signs, the emotional impact of recovery, and six important reminders I want to carry forward. If you or someone you love has experienced heart problems, I hope this story offers encouragement and perspective.
This video is for personal storytelling and general information only. Always seek advice from a qualified medical professional for symptoms, treatment, or recovery guidance.
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I was speaking on practicing the Sabbath. And I said something off the cuff. I said, "If you don't take a regular Sabbath, a Sabbath can take you. Since it happened to ancient Israel, what makes you think it won't happen to you?"
And I sat down after that message, right there in my chair, and I felt this menacing voice.
Clear as day. It said, "That's the last sermon you're ever going to preach."
Now, I don't have time for menacing voices. Jesus didn't argue with demons, so why should I?
I just brushed it off. That was my twelfth time I spoke in fourteen weeks.
My books were selling, people were telling others about my materials.
By the grace of God, I wasn't going to fall. Why should I worry?
The Heart Attack and Recovery
But a week later I had a heart attack.
And I had a lot of time to think about that menacing voice as I recovered.
And since the heart attack,
- I’ve had three stents put in and surgery for two types of carcinoma.
- I’ve had AFIB and Cardiac Ablation surgery,
- I am being treated for fibromyalgia.
- I get tinnitus that can shut me down for the day and
- knots in my legs that can wake me up screaming.
- I’ve lost a range of frequencies in my hearing, so I wear hearing aids.
- My arms got too short and font on phones only get so big so I have to wear readers.
- And I’ve had complications—and I don’t like complications—and
- sat in so many waiting rooms and waited for so many diagnostic test and specialist. And
- I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been rushed to emergency—although I think it’s only once the paramedics had to come.
Heart Attack Recovery and God
But I’ve also had an atheist grab me and ask me to pray so she can have my peace. I’ve had a nurse tell me “you’re far too joyful for someone in this situation.”
I’ve learned I can create safe space for people to self express their thoughts, feelings and emotions without judgment criticism and condemnation.
I’ve been able to tell people about the hope that I have in Jesus.
I've seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. And because of all of that, there are six things I never want to forget.
All of us have something
All of us have gone through something that drops us to our knees.
The question is, how do you ENDURE when life makes less sense?
So I developed this tool. I call it the
How to ENDURE Tool
One letter at a time. And I want to walk you through it.
E: Ever remember to never give God credit for the works of the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
The first E reminds me to Ever remember to never give God credit for the works of the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
Jesus came to give us life and have it to the full. The enemy comes for the opposite reason.
So the question you can ask yourself is this: Am I giving God credit for what the enemy is doing?
Our emotions show us what we truly believe.
The lies we hold onto, they need to be surfaced.
You can't just treat the symptoms. You've got to get to the root.
And then let Holy Spirit replace those lies with the truth he reveals.
N: Never forget to treat all hardship as discipline.
N reminds me to Never forget to treat all hardship as discipline.
Hebrews tells us that God disciplines those he loves as a father.
Now, discipline isn't punishment. It's training. It's preparation. It's him shaping you for something.
And Romans 8:28 says he works all things together for the good of those he’s called.
It's by the word of our testimony that we overcome. Never forget God's goodness to you.
Don't give God credit for the devil's work, and we see hardship as training. But how do you actually keep your peace through it?
D: Don't ever ignore that the God of all hope fills me with all peace and joy as I trust in him so I can overflow with hope by the power of Holy Spirit
D reminds me - Don't ever ignore that the God of all hope fills me with all peace and joy as I trust in him so I can overflow with hope by the power of Holy Spirit
Nothing is more important than your peace. Peace is the emotion that needs to rule your heart.
I've had too many Christians tell me they are trusting God but they just can't stop worrying. And I want to say this gently.
Show me your peace and I'll know you're trusting God. Show me your joy and I'll know you're trusting God. Show me your hope and I'll know you're trusting God.
Because your emotions, they show you what you actually believe--Not what you say you believe--what you actually believe.
So if you don't have peace, here's what I've learned to do. Go back to the last place you had it. Where did you lose it? What happened?
And then confession and repentance, they work wonders to get it back. Repent and do the things you did at first. That's not just religious language. That's practical. That's how you find your way back.
U: Understand that I can worry about nothing but pray about everything with thanksgiving.
U in ENDURE reminds me to Understand that I can worry about nothing but pray about everything with thanksgiving. Philippians 4:6 and 7.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says giving thanks in all circumstances is his will for you.
In 2024 I did my first 70-Day Gratitude Challenge. Every day for 70 days I decided to give thanks, feel grateful for what I was giving thanks for, and show appreciation for what I felt gratitude toward. I was giving thanks with my whole heart.
We don't learn habits in 21 days. But in 21 days you'll be 10 percent happier. If you do three sets of 21—that's 63 to 70 days, the neural pathways realign.
Your brain actually rewires itself.
In 70 days you realign your brain so you can give thanks at all times.
And that's God's will for you.
So you guard your peace and you practice gratitude. But what do you do with the actual weight of what you're carrying? https://revtrev.link/thanks
R: Remember to cast all my cares upon Him because He cares for me.
R reminds me to Remember to cast all my cares upon him because he cares for me. I've learned something important.
Never leave a time of prayer without exchanging your problems for his peace. Don't just bring your list of requests and walk away still carrying them.
Exchange them. Pour out your heart to God. Trust Him with your requests and you'll have His peace.
After first gratitude challenge, I felt God calling me to seek him. And I didn't know what that would look like with my current reality. I mean, I've got all these health things going on. I'm tired. I can't physically do what I've done. How do I practically seek him in the middle of all this?
I eventually developed what I call the Our Father Prayer Rhythm. https://revtrev.com/thanks
I write down all my requests and I write down all the answers. Because let me tell you something. My God answers my prayers.
And when I see those answers written down, it builds my faith for the next thing.
Worry about nothing. Pray about everything with thanksgiving. That's the rhythm. That's how you live.
E: Embrace that He has showered me with His kindness along with all wisdom and understanding so everything is figureoutable
E stands for Embrace that he has showered me with his kindness along with all wisdom and understanding. Galatians 6:8. and so everything is figureoutable.
He not only prompts me to do his will, he empowers me to accomplish it. Every good work prompted by faith, he gives me the ability to do it.
I don't know what lies ahead. I really don't. But I know he's already there. I know I can trust him to prove himself good.
I know his favour is on me and his blessings overwhelm me. Even though in this world I will have trouble, I take heart knowing he's overcome the world.
That’s my Heart Attack Recovery Story
So that's the tool. ENDURE. That's my story and that's six things I never want to forget. I know I must endure and I want to encourage you to do the same.
I don't know what impossible situation you're facing right now. I don't know what lies you're believing or if you feel rejected or forgotten or completely alone.
Maybe you're dealing with a scary diagnosis. Maybe you're sitting in a waiting room right now wondering what comes next.
Maybe you got that phone call that dropped you to your knees and you're still trying to figure out how to stand back up.
I want you to know something.
God is for you. And if God is for you, who can be against you?
He is big enough for your questions. He's given you the gift of lament.
He is going to finish the good work he started in you.
He rejoices over you with singing. He quiets you with his love.
That's why I can say I have seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Not in some far-off heaven someday—although I want to keep my thoughts on heaven. Right here. Right now. In the middle of the mess.
If you want to try the Our Father Prayer Rhythm or the 70-Day Gratitude Challenge, you can find them at the links below. They're free. They're tools. They've helped me and I think they can help you too.
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