Proverbs 4:23,
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
The heart. The beat of life. The home of love, emotion, and truth. The things and people we love the most have a special place in our hearts. Every emotion that we feel is birthed out of our hearts. The motive of every action and word – spoken or unspoken - lies in our hearts. The heart has SO much power in our lives, and that is why we must guard it.
Examine what and who is already in your heart. What is weighing your heart down? Many times, this can be hate or spite for another person, a grudge, an old flame, a heart break, or even an unwillingness to forgive yourself. Whatever it is, YOU must rid your heart of it to make room for the proper supplement of your heart.
After ridding your heart of the weights, you may seem empty or lonely. This may be because you’ve become so comfortable with those weights, that you developed a dependency on them. Don’t allow that dependency to cause you to prefer those unhealthy fragments over a pure heart. When you feel empty, ask God to fill your void. Our Creator knows just what we need, even when we can’t quite put it into words.
The best way to guard your heart is to make Jesus the center of it. As the Scripture says,
“…everything you do flows from it”. If Jesus is at the center of your heart, then everything you do should embody His spirit. Of course, we’ll make mistakes; but when Jesus is at the center of your heart, you won’t find complacency in sin.
Rid your heart of weights and fragments. Ask God to fill the holes of your heart. Make Him the center, and trust Him with your fragile heart.
-Brianna R.
Guard your heart. Simple enough, right?
Unfortunately, this is the area that I have the most trouble in. To be honest, you would think I had a sign on my heart that says, “Here’s my heart everyone! Stop by and do as you please! Emotions? Damage? Nah, I’ll deal with those later, really, have at it!”
Ever since I could remember, I have always been quite vulnerable when it came to my heart. I love hard, I love easily, which also means I am hurt …a lot.
My bishop once taught about a fragmented heart and how over time we have allowed our hearts to be so divided and broken that we are left with small fragments and then wonder why we have such a hard time giving our full heart to Jesus. Well, guess who also was trying to offer him a sliver? “You were right”
Many of my decisions and confliction with my walk with Christ came from having such a broken heart. I treated God as if He were another person who would leave, disappoint, reject, hurt, misuse, and abuse my already tainted core. I had to make myself believe what the word said about Christ, because the world by now had taught me that NO ONE could be trusted. My once open and inviting sentiment became a cold vessel full of un-forgiveness, anger, and bitterness.
Just like there are many illnesses and ailments that can affect the fleshly heart, there are many sicknesses of the spiritual heart that can ruin growth and development as a believer in Christ. Coronary Artery Disease is a hardening of the arteries due to accumulated cholesterol plaques and scarring in the artery walls. Well, hardening of the spiritual heart can also occur when people we have allowed to enter our hearts that have mistreated what we saw as precious.
How do we allow our hearts to heal? Ephesians 4:31–32 instructs, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
God promises to mend our broken hearts, but we first have to ALLOW the process to begin. I know it sounds contradicting since many of the acts of forgiveness are similar to those that allowed your heart to get broken. Also to ensure you don’t hinder your healing, take guard of your heart. When it comes to people, you have to constantly be working with the Holy Spirit to keep your heart guarded. Trusting HIS direction can keep other wounds from forming.
So sis, love as Christ loves, but remember to always guard your most precious lifeline. After all, how can you invite Christ into your heart when it’s not fit for living?
-Monique B