Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)
Message:
The heart is more than a place where emotions reside. It is where desires, motives, intentions and convictions sit. What you continually entertain within your will eventually find expression in how you think, speak, respond and live.
This is why Scripture tells us to guard our hearts diligently.
Guarding your heart does not mean shutting people out, avoiding relationships or becoming emotionally unavailable. You cannot give everything access to your heart and expect everything to produce good fruit. You want God’s will, but you are equally attached to your own way. You desire peace, yet keep entertaining what disturbs it.
Before asking God to change your circumstances, examine what is happening within you.
A guarded heart is not a hardened heart. It is a heart that remains open to God while exercising discernment about what it welcomes.
Midweek Challenge:
Identify one attitude, influence or desire that is pulling your heart away from God. Make a conscious decision to address it rather than continue entertaining it.
Prayer:
Father, give me wisdom to protect my heart without hardening it and let my thoughts, decisions and actions reflect a heart that is fully yielded to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.