Why Guarding Your Heart Is an Utmost Priority
Proverbs 4:20-27 includes seven verses that are a written revolution if we walk in them:
“My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to My Words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart for they bring life to those who find them in healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk. Stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet and stay on the safe path. Don’t get side-tracked and keep your feet from following evil.”
Words are so powerful, that Proverbs 18:21 tells us the tongue holds the power of life and death! Therefore, we must let God’s Words penetrate deeply and set our mind to do all He says. Then, what God speaks will saturate our emotions, our discernment, our will—all we are. It literally starts to light our life on fire, as Jeremiah 23:29 declares, “‘Does not My Word burn like fire?’ says the Lord …”
If we live in His Words, allowing them to soak into our hearts, we will become unshakeable. And if our hearts are established in His Word, any fiery trials we face can never burn hotter than the fire of His Word within us “For our God is a devouring fire” (Heb. 12:29).
We will never just endure the trying of our faith, we will always triumph through it. Because our heart determines the course of our entire life, we must not only hide His Word in our hearts (Ps. 119:11) but guard the heart that holds this priceless treasure. Most games, from capture the flag to NFL football, contain some form of defense whether it is guarding a flag or a goal line. For us, guarding our hearts is equivalent to guarding the course of our life.
It is dangerously easy to be swayed in our generation from social media, news channels, movies, television and the culture that’s all around us. These enticing forces, driven by the spirit of the world, relentlessly contend for our spirit and thinking, so keeping our focus is more critical than ever.
If we’re driving and take our eyes off the road, the vehicle will veer in the direction we’re looking, and we could easily get up-close and personal with a ditch. As believers, we lose sight of our way when we lose sight of His Words and begin to speak our own. For example, when we complain or grumble against circumstances, it rises against the reality of what God is speaking into our lives. Instead, let’s embrace our hidden seasons rather than complain about them. Simply not speaking against our season and embracing God’s call through it, will silently speak life and create a dramatically different destiny.
What if we give abundantly with our words? What if we speak the building blocks of life with our words? The enemy comes to steal, while God comes to give abundantly. The enemy comes to destroy, while God comes to build. The enemy comes to kill, while God comes to raise up. What destiny are you creating with the life or death that’s coming from your tongue?
If we have His Words in our heart and we begin to speak them, we will release new depths of the power of life that is in the tongue, moving deeper into the destiny He has written for our life. Are you delaying God’s season of destiny with the words you are speaking?