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"Guard your heart above all else for it is the wellspring of life" Proverbs 4:23"[God] is looking for those with changed hearts and minds. Whoever has that kind of change in [her] life will get [her] praise from God." Romans 2:29
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19
Guarding Your Heart
Imagine it's your 18th birthday and as your big present your dad bought you backstage passes to the Alicia Keys concert. You're so excited and all week long you plan out your outfitt and what you're going to do or say when you get your 2 seconds of fame to speak to the celebrity. As you stand in line next to the other several sweaty kids your minds racing. The kids in front of you all line up and ask "can i have your autograph" "can i take a picture with you?" boom boom goes your heart you step up to the plate and ask "can i have your heart?"
Bang. Lights out.
Everybody stops and freezes, what is she gonna say?
But lets stop and analyze. What does this mean?
In the novel, Every Womans Battle, Shannon Ethridge compares our hearts to velcro. Imagine washing your shirts, dresses and one pair of pants with the velcro zipper all through the same wash. Don't see the problem here? Well, because of the carelessness of washing it all together you had to pick apart several articles of clothing from the Velcro's fierce grip. Since you failed to protect your laundry you ruined some of your favorite clothing. Just like that velcro our hearts can attach to everything we're attracted to. That's why it's important to always be alert of the sins that are fighting for attention from our heart.
The longing to love and be loved is a universal cry of the heart. And unlike most other cry's this howl is heard amongst all. When love eludes us we may seek to fulfill it with food, sex (with any willing partner i.e. gender), tv/ soap operas, shopping or self-gratification.
The longing to love and be loved is a universal cry of the heart. And unlike most other cry's this howl is heard amongst all. When love eludes us we may seek to fulfill it with food, sex (with any willing partner i.e. gender), tv/ soap operas, shopping or self-gratification.
But these are all dead ends and leave us looking for something deeper/ more.
Lets take a look at what God says.
God told us to guard our heart above all else- above our lives, our faith, our marriage, our dreams, or whatever else we hold dear. In Proverbs he tells us: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (4:23). No why is it that our hearts are so important. When God created us, He made our hearts central to our being- physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Physically, it is at the center of our circulatory system. It pumps oxygenated blood throughout our body. If there is trouble inside our heart, then our entire body is in danger. The same goes for our health spiritually. Spiritually our heart is the place where the Holy Spirit dwells when you invite Him into your life (Ephesians 3:16-17). The heart is the core of all we are and all we experience in life. Emotionally, when something exciting happens our heart leaps for joy. And the same goes for when you experience disappointment or loss your heart aches with sadness.
God wants us to protect the source of our physical, spiritual, and emotional well being. "Just as a lake will not be pure if its source is not pure, neither will our thoughts, words and actions be pure if our hearts are not pure. Purity begins in our hearts" (Every Womans Battle, 87).
In Jeremiah God promises us that when God looks on our pure heart and sees us guarding it he will reward us with an even greater revelation of Himself. "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a [woman] according to [her] conduct, according to what [her] deeds deserve. " Jeremiah 17:10
Thank you Lord for this revelation and reminder. My prayer today is to not be distracted by the temptations of the world. To guard my heart against unhealthy relationships and addictions. As I read in the book Every Womans Battle, the secret to ultimate emotional satisfaction is to pursue a mad, passionate love relationship with the One who made our hearts, the One who purifies our hearts , and the One who strenghtens our hearts against worldly temptations. I pray that I will focus my heart on my First Love. God will you be my magnificent obsession.
God told us to guard our heart above all else- above our lives, our faith, our marriage, our dreams, or whatever else we hold dear. In Proverbs he tells us: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (4:23). No why is it that our hearts are so important. When God created us, He made our hearts central to our being- physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Physically, it is at the center of our circulatory system. It pumps oxygenated blood throughout our body. If there is trouble inside our heart, then our entire body is in danger. The same goes for our health spiritually. Spiritually our heart is the place where the Holy Spirit dwells when you invite Him into your life (Ephesians 3:16-17). The heart is the core of all we are and all we experience in life. Emotionally, when something exciting happens our heart leaps for joy. And the same goes for when you experience disappointment or loss your heart aches with sadness.
God wants us to protect the source of our physical, spiritual, and emotional well being. "Just as a lake will not be pure if its source is not pure, neither will our thoughts, words and actions be pure if our hearts are not pure. Purity begins in our hearts" (Every Womans Battle, 87).
In Jeremiah God promises us that when God looks on our pure heart and sees us guarding it he will reward us with an even greater revelation of Himself. "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a [woman] according to [her] conduct, according to what [her] deeds deserve. " Jeremiah 17:10
Thank you Lord for this revelation and reminder. My prayer today is to not be distracted by the temptations of the world. To guard my heart against unhealthy relationships and addictions. As I read in the book Every Womans Battle, the secret to ultimate emotional satisfaction is to pursue a mad, passionate love relationship with the One who made our hearts, the One who purifies our hearts , and the One who strenghtens our hearts against worldly temptations. I pray that I will focus my heart on my First Love. God will you be my magnificent obsession.
1 Response to how about your heart?
Brittney you are such a great writer and I love this. I love you!
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