“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” — Proverbs 4:23
The heart is the core and most sensitive part of the human body. It receives and pumps blood to all parts of the body, sustaining life. And as the body cannot function without an active heart, we must be intentional about guarding our hearts.
Every activity of man has its root in the heart. Our opening scripture tells us it is the fountain of life (Proverbs 4:23b). It plays a central role in human existence, circulating life-sustaining blood (Leveticus 17:11). This explains why the heart must be guarded. He who keeps his heart keeps his life.
Another reason to guard the heart is its influence on character. A person’s behaviour is shaped by the state of their heart. Therefore, you cannot be what your heart is not. You are a product of your thoughts (Pro 23 :7).
The heart must also be carefully guarded because it controls our speeches and actions. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). What are the things that fill your heart? The physical heart pumps two types of blood—oxygenated (life-giving) and deoxygenated (lifeless). Similarly, the spiritual heart can be influenced by either God or Satan. Whoever controls your heart determines the course of your life..
Do not give your heart to Satan! Ananias and Sapphira allowed him to fill their hearts with lies and deceit (Acts 5:3). He can also fill an unguarded heart with pride, fear, depression, and all forms of negativity. Conversely, God fills a renewed yielding hearts with joy, peace, love and many other virtues.
No matter, how strong and anointed you are , if you do not have an active and engaging heart that is Holy Spirit-controlled, you cannot be effective in whatever you do. It’s only when you are alive and lively that you can inject life into others. Prophet Elijah who had been greatly used by God heard the threat of Jezebel; saw death and became like a vegetable (1 Kings 19:1-4). Are you trying to imagine what went wrong with this fiery prophet?- He allowed Satan to infiltrate his heart with fear and depression. Another great man who fell through the transmission of a negative signal was David. Unlike Job who made a covenant with his eyes not to lustfully look at ladies (Job 31:1), David kept the gates of his eyes carelessly open to gaze and lust; allowing the image of Bathsheba’s nakedness to bite his heart leading to his downfall (2 Samuel 11:2-5).
Beloved, you have responsibility to guard your heart by keeping the eye, ear gates and other sense organs that feed information into the heart through the brain (soul). Furthermore, you can control what goes into the heart by screening what you process in your thought realm. The Bible makes us understand that the quality of a man is determined by what he thinks in his heart (Prov. 23:7). Therefore be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2) and set your affection only on godly virtues. Above all, don’t be disconnected from the Source of life. Jesus is the life support to the heart.
Possibly you have suffered heartbreak and spiritual setbacks before now. Cry like David (Psalms 51:10) and say Father, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Guide my thoughts always and let me be disciplined enough to control my eye and ear gates in Jesus name.
Shalom!
@afo4Jesus
