Guard Your Heart
It feels more important than ever to keep vigilant watch over our heart. We are not immune to letting our hearts slip and slide every which way as all different kinds of news comes our way. Yet, Jesus doesn’t change His scripture according to the year we are going through. His word remains the same, day in and day out. It’s in times like these where He invites us to partner with His word so that we can live an abundant life amidst an uncertain season.
Jesus tells us to keep “vigilant watch” over our heart. To remain vigilant requires conscious effort on our part. We can’t rest on our laurels. God wants us to have an abundant life. It’s one of the things He came here to do, as he tells us in John 10:10 (English Standard Version), “…I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Jesus tells us how to guard our hearts in Proverbs 4:23-26 (The Message Version):
“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.
Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.”
He tells us to watch our mouth, fix our eyes and give careful thought to our steps.
Our mouth is a powerful tool in our life - what we speak has power - Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) puts it like this, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
To guard our heart is to watch our words and our speech. What do you find yourself saying about your current circumstance? Are your words bringing life? Many times the way we speak is like “reverse prophecy.” It’s cancelling and swatting away what God has to say about you, your life and purpose.
We may have been talking a certain way our whole lives. But how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. In this case, one word at a time. Have you ever had word vomit and after you’ve spilled your guts about how you really feel about a situation — you realize that wasn’t the best idea? That queasy feeling is the consequence of our spoken words lingering. As we watch our words, we will watch the quality of our life go from dark to light. Not because of mere positivity but because of the power Jesus has placed in our own words to create life — just as He did as He spoke all of creation into existence.
A few questions to keep in mind: what are my words creating? What are my words bringing into existence?
The words we speak are led by the focus of our eyes. In Proverbs 4:25 (MSG) Jesus tells us, “keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all the sideshow distractions.” Our world is full of distractions. So what do we do with them? God has a simple way of dealing with it — He says to ignore them by setting our focus on things above.
When we fix our gaze on Jesus life focuses and priorities shift into place. When we focus on His beauty, grace and wonder all of the earthly distractions fade away. He’s worthy of our focus, of our heart’s attention and affection. Psalms 119:37 gives us a simple, yet practical prayer: “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”
Take a moment to breathe in God’s life as your eyes refocus on Him.
When we stop and focus our hearts on Him, it’s only natural that new life will rise inside of us. He’s the breath-giver.
As we stop looking at the worthless things, the burdens fall off our shoulders. It’s the worthless things that tie us down and entangle us. As we focus on Jesus our life comes back into center. It’s a fresh start every single time our gaze meets His.
A few questions to keep in mind: What are the distractions that steal my focus? What are the worthless things that are weighing me down?
Our focus will lead our steps and set the tone of the direction of our life. You don’t have to figure out your life’s path all on your own. There’s no need to live in fear of getting it “right.” We can ask God to guide our steps. As we entrust our life’s road to God, He will guide us to the fulfillment of our purpose. What’s beautiful about God is that it’s never too late to redirect our steps. He allows us to change directions. It’s His rhythm of grace. You can turn your life around, step-by-step. If you’re asking yourself, “where am I going?,” I encourage you to pray this instead:
“Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.” (Psalms 119:133, New Living Translation)
God doesn’t leave us in the dust. He guides us home every time we ask. As we watch our steps we are guarding the condition of our heart.
A few questions to keep in mind: Have I been asking God to guide my steps? What areas in my life are asking me for a change of direction?
Our steps are the seeds for the soil of our heart.
Our words are the water.
Our focus is God’s light that brings our heart to bloom.
It’s all interwoven together to create an oasis where God can dwell.
Where life can begin — again and again.