Guard

Proverbs 4:23 NIV Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

As much as you may hear about multitasking, studies by the world’s leading neuropsychologists have shown that we were created to be mono-taskers, meaning our brains can only effectively focus on one task at a time. Setting priorities to arrange your assignments in order of importance, value, and urgency; is critical to giving anything your full attention.

In Proverbs 4:23, God clarifies any confusion on the priority of guarding your heart. Proverbs 4 comes from the perspective of a father giving his son instructions for life, and the words are weighty and worthy of our full attention. “Above all else” carries the meaning that this should be valued or focused on more than anything else you are assigned to do. 1 Samuel 16:7, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

In Hebrew, the word heart is lēḇ, which speaks of the inner man, our mind, will, and understanding. The heart is not just an organ that pumps blood but our soul, our real self. It is from our heart that our deepest thoughts and desires come. What we are on the inside will eventually express itself on the outside, in words and actions. Thus, the heart is the wellspring from which flows everything in our life—whether good or bad. Luke 6:45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 tells us to love the LORD our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our might. We may think God wants our time, money, and every drop of energy we have to offer, but above all, He wants our love from a guarded, undivided heart. Not a half-hearted, only-when-I-need-you kind of love. Just as husbands and wives must guard their hearts, turning away from temptation or advances of outside love influences to keep their love pure, God desires a love that consumes our hearts, fully influences our behavior, our choices, defines our lives, and comes from a heart that is guarded against outside, evil influences.

Guarding our hearts is about protecting ourselves from influences that move us away from God. 1 John 2:16-17 TPT “For all that the world can offer us—the gratification of our flesh, the allurement of the things of the world, and the obsession with status and importance—none of these things come from the Father but from the world.” Allowing worldly influences to take root in our hearts will always hinder our relationship with God. The world’s temptations are not for us to have more fun, gain wealth, or fame. Satan and his temptations are for a single purpose: to kill, steal, and destroy your life and your relationship with a loving God.

Guarding our hearts is not building walls around ourselves or following a strict set of rules. It is the result of a life fully surrendered to Him. You were created to know God and to be fully known by Him. This unhindered relationship with your perfect, loving Father will be your constant source of joy, peace, strength, and wisdom. Philippians 4:7 gives us the formula for successfully guarding our hearts: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

Release all your worries, fears, and anxieties to the Lord, and His peace will guard your heart.

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

Luke 6:43-45 NASB For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Matthew 12:34-35 NASB For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.

Psalms 139:23-24 NLT Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Proverbs 23:19 NIV Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path:

Psalms 51:10 NIV Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Proverbs 23:26 NIV My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,

Jeremiah 17:7-10 NIV But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.

Psalms 37:3-4 NIV Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Galatians 5:24-25 NASB Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Matthew 6:22-23 NLT Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

Mark 7:15 TPT What truly contaminates a person is not what he puts into his body, but what comes out. That’s what makes a person defiled.

Ephesians 2:10 NASB For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.