Guarding Your Heart (and Other Treasures)

Emily281

Guarding Your Heart (and Other Treasures)

Proverbs 4:23 ” Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
 
It should have been a day full of celebration, but a monkey wrench was thrown into the midst of the party. Emily turned 21 yesterday and looked forward to a day of pleasant surprises. But only a few hours in she realized that her debit card had been stolen the day before, and to her dismay, her bank account had dropped to the bare minimum. She spent a good portion of the remainder of this momentous day calling the bank and filing a police report.

This situation reminded all of us that you can never be too careful. Though you would love to trust everyone, this is just not possible in a world full of sin and evil. It is important to guard the things that are most important to you.

In the book of Proverbs a wise father warned his son to guard his heart above all else  because it was the wellspring of his life.  Your heart is what determines who you are and what your course of action will be. Proverbs 23:19 says, “Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path.”
 
There is an enemy, Satan, who would love to come in and steal away all your good intentions, causing you to walk on paths to which God has not called you. You must guard your heart against his lies and keep your eyes fixed on the goal of Christlikeness.

The wise father pleaded, “My son (or daughter) pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s body.”
He continued by reminding his son (or daughter), “Put away perverse speech from your mouth and keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
 
When you set out to follow God it is easy to get distracted by the world around you and to become deadened to the sin you see every day. Before long Satan has deflected your attention from holiness and you become calloused toward sin. Thought processes and speech habits can begin to mimic those who have no desire for God and your spiritual life slowly drains away.

One who guards his heart controls his tongue with righteousness and makes decisions based on God’s wisdom. When faced with difficult decisions, he will not turn from his goal, but will stay the course with firmness. A guarded heart will not fall into evil actions but will remain on the path God has called him to no matter what.

Thankfully Emily’s day ended a little better than it started. It appears she will receive the money back from the bank, but it still put a damper on what should have been a special day. In spite of everything that happened, we all got a warning about guarding important things of life – of which the most valuable is your heart. Guard it carefully!

Love,

Mama

PS. Happy birthday, Miss Em!

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Hi, I'm Sandy! 

I write inspirational letters based on the Bible that share words of hope, encouragement, truth, and healing to my children and anyone else who longs for a mama's touch.

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