“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
When my oldest grandson was 11 years old, he and his mother went to the mall after his dentist appointment. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Noah quietly turn his head to the left as they walked by the Victoria’s Secret store on the right and not turn back until they had passed it.
They shopped a while longer and when they came back by that store from the other direction, Noah said “Mom, will you walk on my right side?” She responded “Yes, but why?” He smiled: “I want to look at something beautiful.” Noah was guarding his heart.
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In Proverbs 4:23, Solomon speaks of that very thing. First, he says to guard your heart “above all else.” In other words, before you do anything, your number one priority should be to take care to protect it. Why? Solomon says it is because your heart “is the wellspring of life.” Everything about your character is determined by the condition of your heart.
See, Noah understood something at eleven years of age that many adults do not: what you allow your eyes to see will quickly travel to your mind and make its home there. And from the mind, those images will eventually create a path to dig deep into your heart.
We tell ourselves that just one look at an inappropriate magazine or website isn’t all that bad. And sure, maybe the movie has a few curse words or suggestive scenes but the theme is basically “good.”
What we are actually doing is removing the protection of our heart and asking the Holy Spirit, who lives there, to move over to make room for sin! What we should be doing is asking Him to put that guard back in place to keep the ugly of the world out.
Noah gets it. And I want to be found, as he was, standing guard.
Father, please help me to guard my heart so that there is only room for the Holy Spirit to guide me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up . . .
Reflect
· Have you ever watched a movie or read something that you knew was inappropriate as a Christian?
· Were you able to completely forget it or did it find a way into your mind and heart?
Apply
· Keep a note card with Proverbs 4:23 written on it in a pocket, purse or beside your tv remote.
· When you are tempted to turn your eyes – and heart – toward something that is not appropriate, pull out the card, stand guard and pray.
Power
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Luke 6:45 (NIV) “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”
II Timothy 1:14 (NIV) “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”
(For more of Nancy Hughes writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)
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