All through the scriptures, there is a lot of emphasis on the
heart as it ought to be because the heart is the singular most important part
in the human body and when the bible talks about the heart, it talks about both
our physical heart and our spiritual heart.
The heart is the central point of our
lives. If the natural heart ceases to beat, the body dies. The same goes for
our spiritual heart. Our spiritual heart is where our will, our emotions, our
thoughts and our personalities are formed.
Everything
starts from the heart. Our hearts are truly who we are. We love from our
hearts. We hold treasures there. We also hold grudges and bitterness there.
Every action and reaction comes from our hearts.
The heart is also very important to God so much that in Proverbs 4:23, He tells us “Above all else, guard your heart [mind, inner being], for it is the wellspring of life”. Why? Because He searches the heart – Jeremiah 17:10, and only the pure in heart, will see Him - Mathew 5:8.
The bitter truth however is that many of us are not guarding our
hearts. We have become careless with our hearts. We allow our heart wonder here
and there. We feed our hearts things that don’t edify us, we allow people into
our heart who don’t deserve to be there.
Can I ask you an honest question? What
is the state of your heart? Who and what are you allowing into your heart that
is messing you up? When God looks at your heart, what does He see? Have you
brought your heart before God for cleansing?
We
tend guard and take care of every other thing we treasure except for our
hearts; we will lock the door to our homes to guard our lives and our valuables,
we will guard our positions at work by doing everything possible to insure a
lasting position however, we fail to guard what is considered to be the most
important- our hearts!
The purpose of this note if for us to really examine ours hearts. What
matters most is
not what’s happening on the outside of us but what’s happening on our inside- our
heart.
The
state of our heart is never hidden. It is seen in our attitude, it is seen in
our dressing, and it is seen in our character, it is seen in our words. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
- Matthew 12:34
What is the majority of your words
saying? Do you talk about money most of the time? Is it power and position, it
is career, it is appearance, or it is possessions? Are you constantly arguing,
gossiping, worrying or stressing over something? Do you have a hard time saying
positive things?
All
these are symptoms of an unguarded heart. And it's no secret that an
unguarded heart is a breeding ground for sin. Sin in not just expressed in the
act alone it is first committed in the heart.
You see, if
someone wants to pollute water, he pollutes it at its source. If he wants to
purify water, he purifies it at its source. The content of our hearts form the
core of our lives- either godliness or ungodliness. “As a man thinks in his
heart, so is he” Proverbs 23:7
Who
have you allowed into your heart? Who do you spend time with? Why are you
surprised that you think and act the way you do when your friendships are full
of people who don’t push you toward Christ?
Truth
is, you
will never know the reality of your heart until you bring it before God.
We
must start guarding this precious commodity by bringing it before God for a
"check-up" and thereafter guarding it. And if you don’t already have
a relationship with God, then you need to first surrender your heart to Christ
before you even talk of guarding it.
We
need to stop opening our hearts up to things that perverts our heart. Cut out
every distraction, turn off those stupid music, switch off those mindless TV
shows, refuse any lustful conversations, do away with
lies, turn away from gossip, flee any sexual temptation that's around you and don’t
put up with people who disobey God and make excuses for sin.
The
need for us to guard our hearts cannot be over emphasized so bring your heart before the Creator and allow Him to do a little surgery on
it. Trust me; the surgery process is not even painful. He is an expert
at fixing faulty, broken, and messed up hearts-
a healer in every sense of the word.
When
your heart is completely surrendered to Christ you will be conscious about
guarding it.
It is my sincere prayer that God
will give us the needed grace to adequately guard our hearts the way we ought
to…
Above all else, guard your heart!
Just Sharing My Thought
Listen.
Laugh. Smile.
Relate. Share.
