GUARD YOUR HEART!

Recently I spent time with a friend who is going through a great struggle in his life. As we sat talking and praying together, I was strongly impressed by the Lord to direct my friend’s attention to Proverbs 4:23: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (NLT).

In our present-day world, we have reason to be security-conscious, always on our guard. Daily we hear of terrorism attacks around the world, and more and more random acts of violence seem to be happening all across America. At home I must keep my computer protected from hackers and viruses.

People have security systems in their homes and cars come equipped with security alarms. Security became a high priority for travelers after the terrorist attack on New York City in 2001.  Even as I write this, there is a debate going on over the changes that the FAA has made in allowing pocketknives to be carried again on commercial aircraft; many people are outraged and concerned about this loosening of the law. We seem to live in a security-mad world!

Of all the areas of life where we must be careful and take “security” precautions, the Bible says that protecting our heart is the most important. I wonder why that is?

In our contemporary world we tend to view the heart as the seat of emotions. We use statements such as, “I love you with all my heart,” or we say we are “heartbroken” when things don’t work out the way we wanted them to.

To the people of Solomon’s day, the heart was considered the seat of the will and the thought life. The heart was used as a symbol of the inner, spiritual life of a person. In Hebrew, the word used for heart symbolically covers the spiritual aspect of man: the mind, the will, the moral character, passion and desire. Solomon is saying that we are to “guard” the whole of the inner man. We are being told to be very watchful/protective of our inner man, our spiritual life.

How can we do that?

1. “Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech” (Proverbs 4:24, NLT). The first thing Solomon directs us to is our speech—what we speak. When the heart is full of wrong things, evil fantasies, they will come out through what we say. Jesus taught us, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:45, NLT).

We guard our heart by not allowing evil and corruption to take root there. When we realize that we are thinking wrong, we confess and ask Him to forgive us and wash us clean from the residue of it.

2. “Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you” (verse 25). God calls us to walk the path of His purposes! His Word is filled with His mind and heart on every aspect of life and from that we fully understand what He wants us to do and what to focus on. Sadly, many Christians get lost here and end up in disaster. One of the sadder commentaries in the Old Testament is the story of Moses leading the children of Israel out from the bondage of Egypt and onto the path to their “promised land.” What should have been a few months’ journey ended up taking forty years because they couldn’t get their hearts right. Acts 7:39 tells us about this tragedy when it says of them, “In their hearts they turned back to Egypt” (NKJV).

We guard our hearts by staying focused on what our end-of-life goal is!

3. “Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil” (Proverbs 4:26-27, ESV). Your daily life needs to be a showcase of obedience to God’s Word and the avoidance of anything that is wrong or questionable or clearly sinful.

       We guard our hearts by staying on the path He has  
       laid out for us and not taking any of the side roads             

       that so often beckon to us.

I am not sure why the Lord had me share this verse with my friend but I know it was from Him.  It pained me to see a dear friend with a life that is nothing short of a mess. I do not know for sure where he let down his guard, but somewhere on the journey he did and the results have been tragic. He is still saved and we’ll meet one day in eternity, but he is on his journey with a life that is totally messed up.

Guard your heart! Be careful what you allow to take up residence in your mind and your thought life. Fill your heart and mind with God’s Word and don’t get sidetracked into things that have nothing to do with God’s purpose for you!