Guard your heart ∙∙

Guard your heart ∙∙

Guard your heart above all else, for it is the seat of our personality. – Proverbs 4:23

Matthew 12:35 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.

The physical human body is intelligently designed. The fascinating autonomic nervous system manages involuntary functions like heart activity, digestion, breathing, sweating, metabolism, and blood pressure. When the body is exposed to cold, blood is directed to the body’s core to safeguard vital organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and brain.

The heart serves as the body’s central control center. In the 17th century, William Harvey’s discovery of the heart’s role in blood circulation transformed medical science.

Solomon, in his wisdom, recognized the heart’s significance, showing scientific insight beyond his times. In fact, he takes it for granted. He used the heart as a metaphor for spiritual truth. In a moral and spiritual sense, the heart must be safeguarded and protected because life and spiritual vitality emanate from within (Ironside).

Daily life presents numerous heart challenges, prompting feelings of offense, stress, frustration, or anger. Instead of giving in to them, we can choose to rise above and overcome them.

Prioritizing the management of negative responses and emotions is essential.

Protecting the heart requires intentional and conscious decisions. It is the responsibility of every child of the King to learn how and choose to guard their hearts, as the state of our hearts impacts almost every aspect of our lives.

The book of Proverbs offers abundant wisdom and insightful sayings, yet sadly, they are often ignored or overlooked.

Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else. [with all diligence and vigilance], for it determines the course of your life. [for from it are the sources of life, for from it flow the springs of life].

REFLECT & PRAY

The heart is the core, the seat of our deepest essence. Our vital, spiritual energy emanates from our hearts.

Father, help me carefully protect my heart above everything else. As my heart leads, so does my life energy.

INSIGHT

In Scripture, the heart is viewed as the core of our innermost being, the foundation of our personality, moral awareness, affections, and emotions. The heart is the home of our zeal and delight, our yearnings and drives, our decisions and choices. It is the command module of our inward life. Out of it flows our life force.

Among all possessions, the heart holds supreme importance. If it becomes polluted, the repercussions are severe. Whatever finds a home in our hearts will ooze out into our lives. Our thoughts shape our character and actions. If our thinking is tainted and corrupt, so will our lives.

Proverbs emphasizes the importance of persisting in maintaining a clean, pure heart, achieved through identifying and practicing wise, productive, uplifting standards that lead to life and spiritual vitality. We are to present our entire beings to the Father: heart, mouth, lips, eyes, and feet (McDonald).

Proverbs 4:20-27

 20 . . . .Listen carefully to my words.

 21 Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart,

 22 for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

 23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

 24 Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.

 25 Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

 26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.

 27 Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

The heart is of utmost importance because it is the wellspring of life (Miller). The heart represents the inner life, the mind, the thoughts, values, motives, and desires. A person’s life is somehow influenced by the thoughts stored in the heart or mind. If the source is pure, the resulting actions will be pure. As we think, we are. The mind is the source from which actions arise.

How do we protect our hearts and guard them? We protect our hearts by safeguarding our thoughts. This is expressed in several ways. In some languages, this is expressed as “Watch your mind,” “Keep a hand on your head,” or “Take care of your thoughts” (UBS)

The Hebrew term for “diligence” is mishmar. Mishmar implies guarding above all else. “The heart must be guarded more zealously than anything else” (Fox).

The term heart is often interchanged in the Scriptures with mind, soul, and spirit. The phrase “with all diligence” literally means “above all guarding” (BDB), which connotes taking responsibility, guarding, watching, and protecting our thoughts above all else. NJB translates as “More than all else, keep watch over your heart,” and NJPSV has “More than all that you guard, guard your mind.” “Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life” (CEV). We may also say, for example, “The most important thing you can do is be careful what you think” or “The most important . . . is to think good thoughts.” “Everything you do comes out of your heart” (UBS)

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

We become what we think! We live out what we believe and focus upon. To become what the Father desires for us to become and live in a manner that is pleasing to Him, we must have the proper focus.

Colossians 3:1-5

 1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

 5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.

Transformation is the Father’s goal for us, and we cooperate with His plan of spiritual metamorphosis when we train our minds to dwell on the things of God rather than on the things of the flesh (Stanley).

¯\_(ツ)_/¯3-27-2

© Dr. H 2024