Guarding Your Heart

Proverbs 4:20-23 NIV

"My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear 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 one’s whole body.
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it."

     The heart is vital to a human being. You cannot live without one. It is a muscle that pumps blood all throughout your body. But this is not the kind of heart that the writer was talking about in Proverbs 4. Even though we are talking about two different kinds of "hearts" both are essential for life. The heart I am talking about is the one where your deepest thoughts, feelings, and emotions are. The one that holds your values in life. 

     Our hearts are like a precious jewel. We should do all we can to keep that precious jewel from being harmed or even broken. Satan is the robber that is trying to come in and harm and break our jewel. If you cling to the Word of God, your sword, you can fight off the robber that is trying to steal your jewel. 

    It is important, as Christians, to keep our hearts in-tuned with God because, "everything you do flows from it." When we are following God's word, we will live out of the overflow of our hearts. We are told how to guard our hearts in Proverbs 4:25 which says, "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you." If we are walking around worrying about all the stresses in our lives, how can our gaze be directly before us? We need to focus on the scriptures instead of freaking out over stresses.

       Everything we do, say, think, and feel starts in the heart. That is why it is so important to stay in the Word. Guarding your heart can seem difficult, but it is simple. Turn your ear to the word, do not let the word out of your sight, and keep the word within your heart. 

"...keep your heart from doing hurt and getting hurt..." -Matthew Henry