October 23, 2022
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.” Proverbs 4:23 (MSG)
“Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (AMP)
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (ESV)
After graduating from high school, I knew I wanted to be a Registered Nurse. My class in biology confirmed my desire to know and understand the human body. And of course, one of my favorite classes in college was anatomy and physiology. I was fascinated with the study of the human body, its functions, its complexity, its inherited elements, and the miracle of life. I was amazed at how God designed every system of the human body so magnificently and meticulously orchestrated its functions. I simply could not understand how anyone could not believe in an infinite Creator.
After becoming a nurse and working in cardiac care, I became fascinated with the human heart, the heartbeat, its intricate design, and its unique features. Only God could make something so complex, yet so simple, so balanced and so complete. God has used the physical heart and its functionalities to teach me many transformative lessons about life and the heartbeat of Himself. The Person of the Holy Spirit is the only One more fascinating and more powerful than the human heartbeat. It became increasingly clear that in all instances of life and death, (physical and spiritual) the heartbeat is the controlling factor! It is the sum total of sustaining human and spiritual life. My understanding of the functionalities of the physical heart, coupled with my experiences in life, has given me a glimpse of spiritual reality.
Why Should You Guard Your Heart? After many years of working and studying the physical, emotional, and spiritual heart, I am convinced more than ever, Who you are and everything you do and speak flows from the condition of your heart. The issues of life, our actions, deeds, and pursuits, all proceed from the heart. What we do in words and actions is first of all a product of what we are on the inside.
Your most vital organ is your heart. It is the life of your physical well-being. Your blood life flows through your heart. We must guard this unique organ! What your physical heart is to your physical life, your spiritual heart is to your spiritual life!
That is why Solomon penned in Proverbs 4:23, GUARD YOUR HEART!
The Word of God clearly teaches us that the real issues of life are spiritual and are really matters of the heart, the inner man! The word “heart” is found many times in the Bible and in the KJV translation alone nearly 1,000 times. The heart is a prominent concept and one of the most commonly used words in the Bible. In the majority of these occurrences, the ‘heart’ is used metaphorically for the inner man! When used metaphorically (viewed contextually) heart refers to either the mind, the emotions, the will, the sinful nature, inclusively to the total inner man, or simply to the person as a whole!
Let’s take a look at “the heart.” What is the spiritual heart? When Solomon refers to guarding the heart, he really means the spiritual heart (inner core of you, your values) is comprised of four things:
♦ Mind – the way you think – your thoughts often dictate who you become.
♦ Will – the choices that you make are who you are. The mind reflects who you really are – not simply your actions but also your words.
♦ Emotions – the way you feel, your aspirations (dreams and goals) passions – what you are purposed to do.
♦ Conscience – is not the Holy Spirit or the voice of God! It is the microphone that helps you hear the voice of God. It is your moral awareness, a part of your human psyche, it reacts when your actions, thoughts, and words conform to or are contrary to, a standard of right and wrong.
REMEMBER: The Devil, Satan, The Evil One, The Enemy is after only one thing YOUR HEART and you need a healthy and vibrant spiritual heart to detect and defeat the ENEMY! When you do not guard your heart, the devil has direct access and he begins to hijack your heart. He messes with your mind and emotions and you begin to think wrong is right and right is wrong ~ you can not distinguish the truth from a lie!
The Devil delights in arousing an Unguarded Heart. His first goal is to tell you that God does not love you. He plans his attack to coincide with those moments when everything is going wrong and we are beset by all kinds of difficulties. Then he whispers in our ear: “Do you still believe that God is love?” When you respond by saying that you do, he transforms himself into an angel of light and tries another of his deceitful tactics. “Well,” he says, “it is obvious that He does not love you, for if He did, then He would not allow you to go through these difficult situations.”
As Believers in Christ, we ALWAYS must be reminded of what Solomon penned in Proverbs 4:23–26. He says to Believers, “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.”
RX: A GUARDED 
HEART: There is only one protection against such an assault; it is to put firmly in place the “armor of righteousness.” Ezekiel 36:26-28,” I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances. Then you will live in the land that I gave your fathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God”
FATHER GOD, please do open heart surgery on those areas that need the scalpel, the sharp two-edged sword of Your Word. We surrender to the guiding hand of the great physician and, divide our inner core apart revealing the true condition and needs of our hearts. Please, repair and heal us through the teaching, guiding, and convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit, in the Precious, Powerful and Preeminent Name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, Amen.