Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Guard your heart – important – very important… guard your reactions, your thoughts, your feelings about regular stuff.
Why? – because out of your heart come reactions to “Life issues”.
How do you react to criticism, rejection, misunderstanding, fear, loneliness? How do you stay faithful, make right choices, speak good, helpful words, encourage , serve, go the extra mile – or 6?!
How we care for our heart and guard it, nourish it, watch over it will determine how healthy it is and what the outcomes of our life are!
On a natural level – we are encouraged to look after our heart, keep fit , healthy and eat the right foods, not just one day, occasionally, but always !
What you eat and how you exercise is crucial to being fit and healthy….is our soul any different? – and here the Bible teaches us to watch over our heart!
It’s a very positive thing, guarding your heart! Whereas when we guard our emotions and soul, we step back, we put up barriers and walls to stop us getting hurt, we retreat and pull back, because we have been burned or disillusioned with people, usually. Guarding your heart doesn’t retreat – but steps up to inputting the good things of the Word of God in your life. Reading and meditating on His Word so that we no longer “react” but are able to respond in a way that is positive and not destructive!
James 5: 8 Establish your heart!!! … means to make stable, steady, sure.
How we guard and establish means to build a firm steady stable basis, means to settle in place, to prove and show to be valid and true! As we take the word of God and decide to accept it, live by it , ask Holy Spirit to transform us and work it out in us, we find we are guarding our hearts, we are able to respond rather than react!
Start today … build God’s Word into you as an integral part of your life, then when the day of stress, trouble, doubt comes- we are guarded and can look above and beyond to see that God’s plans for us are indeed good!