Guard Your Heart

Most of the source of confusion in life emanates from the failure to understand.

Proverbs 4:20-27; teaches us fundamental matters of the heart, its place in our life and the outcome of our future.

In this passage, the king Solomon shares principles of guarding your heart that I will love to share with you.

I know you desire to prosper spiritually, emotionally and physically. This isn't possible without the well positioning of your "heart"

Let the journey start.

From the passage above Proverbs 4:20-27,

2 food of thoughts emerges:

• "above all else"

• "wellspring of life."

The king Solomon advices us that above all things, you must put your heart first as it is from there that emerges the wellspring of life and this has to be done meticulously in order for you to partake to the fullness of the blessings of God.

It is a matter of setting the priority( above all) so that you can receive the glorious promises of the "wellspring of life".

Your heart is more important than anything else and its content determines the direction of your life.

• In Mark 12:30, Jesus commanded you to love your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

• When describing the kingdom of God, Jesus revealed the things that come out of the heart defiles a man (Matthew 15:16-20).

• He continued and said that "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:34).

• In Ephesians 1:18, the apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of your heart be flooded with the light.

When you take a tour in the old testament, you are commanded to:

• Trust your God with all your heart( Proverbs 3:5)

• Hide the word of God in your heart( Psalm 119:1) so that you don't sin.

The heart takes the centre stage and you should know that God evaluate us not by outward appearance but He looks at your heart (1 Samuel 16:7)

Beloved,

the heart is a mysterious spiritual reality that allows us to experience the fullness of life. The heart is the "the very core of life." That is why the devil wages war at that level relentlessly.

The content, desires and direction of your heart is of extreme importance to God, this is the time to value your heart.

Don't give your heart to a person in the pretext of human love, if you do you will be deceived but give your heart to God. Value your heart.

Having understood the importance of the treasure of the heart, you must now prioritise the guarding of your heart. You must know that taking care of the heart is not a selfish pursuit.

When our heart is strong, we are able to resist the temptations that cause many saints to stumble.

The book of Proverbs identifies some things to avoid, but it also contains numerous instructions to pursue:

• wisdom,

• grace,

• discipline,

• and life.

How do you protect your heart:

1)Watch what you hear:

• The Bible is clear that believing comes by hearing the Word of Jesus( Romans 10:7). What goes in your ears is then stored in your heart.

• Your hearing has an impact on what you believe and consequently how you act on that belief.

• When a heart is filled with negativity( gossips, hatred, evil...) it will reflects on your behaviour.

• In Mark 4:24

• Take heed what ye hear

• When you hear the word of God daily, you form an unbreakable bond with God. Allowing you to know God's will and His purpose in your life.

• In Isaiah 50:4-5

• The writer said "The Lord has spoken and I have listened."

• Listening can be a challenge, half listening is a bad habit and has dangerous consequences. When you surround yourself with gossip, quarrelling, you will produce gossips, quarelling

• Proverbs 4:24

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

• Stay away from all bad companies.

2)Avoid mondaine music

• Daniel 3:7

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up

• The purpose of this music was to tell them to worship the idol. Mondaine music has messages that send listeners into worshipping idols.

Beloved,

what goes in your ears is stored in your heart, and that determines the direction of your life. You either fill it with gossips or the word of God.

Watch what you see!

What goes into our eyes has a strong correlation to the content of our hearts.

Jesus said in Mathew 13:15:

• For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed..

Referring this to the state of our eyes which is closed to the gospel but open to lust for money, power, possessions etc.

David said in Psalm 101:3;

•”I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.."

He understood that it is upon us to choose where to set our eyes, either on Jesus or the corruption of this world.

• In Psalm 27:4, he continues:

“One thing have I asked of the LORD, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”

This is why David is called a man after God's heart. A man that has prioritise his look on Jesus alone.

In Hebrews 12:2, Paul encourages you to

“look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

Beloved,

this is clear, the devil has set traps before us, he has embellished the world with false and shining things that are fleeting and corrupting to our heart. He has perverted ways in order for us to be distracted.

Jesus reminds us that the eyes are a lamp of our bodies( Matthew 6:22-23),

if your eyes are in darkness, your body will be fed with darkness.

The Israelites suffered greatly from this, they wanted a God they could see and control. To satisfy that, they turned to idolatry.

Guard your hearts against all the evil scheme, the lust of the eyes (1 John 2:16).

Remember, that God is greater than what is seen.

Set your eyes on Jesus and your heart will be filled with light.

Guard your hearts against the fleeting and temporary desires of this world but fix your eyes on Jesus and your heart will be filled with joy, peace, ...

May God bless you!