"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." ~ Proverbs 4:23
Often you hear people tell you to "Guard your heart" when in a relationship or a certain situation. Although they mean well and are basically telling you to be wise and protect yourself. I disagree... I want to come at it from a different angle.
If we are to be as Jesus is, to live selflessly, for HIM to love others as these verses state:
"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friend." (John 15:13)
"Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life will find it" (Matthew 16:25)
"Trust in the Lord with ALL our heart, lean not on our OWN understanding" (Proverbs 3:5)
Or even "The Lord keeps you from all harm, He will watch over your life." (Psalm 121:7)
Then why would He want US to protect OURSELVES? That is not our job. That would mean His word is contradicting itself. He would not tell us to lay our lives down, or to trust Him to protect us, AND to protect ourselves. It's a vulnerable place to trust someone else to protect us. And His word above is for sure backwards of the way the world does things. In the world WE are our only hope, and WE have to make things happen, protect ourselves, direct our own path, and stand up for what we want. But if WE do it, it's all in OUR might, all in OUR ability and all up to us! That's a lot of pressure.
I believe that when He tells us to guard our hearts He means "Guard it from being corrupted." I read that in a friends blog years ago and I never fully grasped what it actually meant. It has only been recently, through my own walk with Jesus that He has been showing me how stable I can be when standing on His word, and how I waiver with fear when I don't.
I believe that He wants us to guard our hearts, yes…but not from being hurt or broken. I believe He wants us to guard our hearts from DOUBT, from UNBELIEF, from SADNESS, from SUSPICION.
Because what we take IN, will manifest itself inside of us and eventually flow OUT.
It will affect everything we do! As I read in this blog many years back … "Sometimes guarding your heart means allowing it to be broken." That's a tough thing to swallow. Jesus wants to take us places our fears won't let us go… a place where we have to cling so tightly to Him because we can't get through it without Him. If we PROTECT our hearts from unknown, potentially frightening places, we won't follow Him to where He wants us to go.
When God brings us into a situation that can sometimes be painful, our wordily view is to get out. It's up to us to make our decisions and remove ourselves from the situation. Well, sometimes that doesn't work, and God has you right where you are for a purpose. In those times He is training you to walk by FAITH and not by SIGHT. He is teaching you to see with your spiritual eyes what He promised, even though the reality looks nothing like it. He is reminding you to trust HIM, not the circumstance or the person. He is wanting you to practice guarding your heart from unbelief and continuing to believe for the miracle. He wants you to learn that when everything around you looks nothing like what He has spoken to you, that is your que to speak words of life & faith to yourself. Bust out the thanksgiving for all He is doing in your life, even the things you cannot see. His word tells us that when we pray, HE HEARS US "And since we know He hears us when we make requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for." 1 John 5:15 and that He gives us whatever we wish "If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7
So knowing that He has heard us, and He plans to give us what we ask for… we need to guard our hearts from doubt and THANK HIM in the meantime! Because He is a faithful God. Thank Him for how HE is going to work it out. Be expectant and watchful for that seed to manifest in your life. "Now faith is confidence in what we HOPE FOR and assurance of what we DO NOT SEE." Hebrews 11:1
He tells us what to do when we are living in the middle of a promise. Our job is to respond by walking it out.
We waiver when we try to take things into our own hands and protect ourselves. I am writing this blog as much for me as I am anybody else. I struggle with this TREMENDOUSLY. Which is where this blog got birthed from.
His word also says:
"But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." ~ James 1:6
I don't want that kind of faith. I have lived too long wavering back and forth, it's exhausting. I want the kind of faith that is stable, steadfast and strong. I can only have that when I guard my heart from unbelief, doubt and anything that contradicts what God says in His word.
The world will tell you you need to make it happen yourself. God will tell you to trust Him, abide and let Him do it. That's called surrender.
Trust Him, He will lead you in the right way, and your job is to respond in a Godly manner.
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