Devotional for Sunday, July 23, 2017
“Guard Your Heart”
by Dona Hake
Our Good Shepherd watches over us, and there is the devil who roams about seeking ways he can set us up to fall and devour us. Our enemy watches for our weaknesses and vulnerabilities.No, we do not live in fear of the tactics of the devil, for we know by the Spirit of the Living God that He is the greater One and He lives within us! What a wonderful truth we have to hold fast to yet we must be wise and very diligent to make sure we are guarding our hearts at all times. We must be ever so careful to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are keeping our hearts guarded with our diligent input of God’s Word and prayer.
Proverbs 4:23 (AMP)
“Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and
above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.”
We see from this scripture that our heart is able to contain springs of life from which we can draw. God wants our hearts to be full of Him and His life giving presence. Sometimes I find my mind being preoccupied with things that are beyond my control, and oh how they can rob my peace. I can remember how the Lord once ministered to my heart so sweetly yet firmly that because I was preoccupied with the cares of this world that my heart was being left unguarded. I began to think about how diligent we are to make sure our doors to our homes are locked. We have passwords for our logins on different sites that we visit on our computers, and we are encouraged to make them so difficult in order that we are not hacked. We have become so knowledgeable in the realms of taking care of our bodies that we be healthy, and we try to follow a disciplined lifestyle. I ask you today, “Are you guarding your heart with that same diligence?” May we grow in our conviction of remaining diligent in keeping our heart guarded against that evil one that desires to pull us away from God’s perfect will.
Let us meditate on the advice from Paul in the book of Philippians. In this letter he wrote how we can keep the peace of God guarded in our hearts. This was his advice…
Philippians 4:6-9 Easy-to-Read Version
“Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask
“Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask
God for everything you need, always giving thanks
for what you have. And because you belong to
Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over
all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do
this far better than our human minds.
Brothers and sisters, continue to think about
what is good and worthy of praise.
Think about what is true and honorable
and right and pure and beautiful and respected.
9 And do what you learned and received from me—
what I told you and what you saw me do.
And the God who gives peace will be with you.”
When we purpose to think on good things we are being proactive in guarding our hearts, and keeping them in the peace of God. I know for myself that when my heart is full and I mean FULL of God’s peace, faith, and pure things I can face the problems of this life in His strength. Today I encourage you to watch over your heart and your thoughts. Make sure you are not walking about your day with a heart that is unguarded, for God desires to keep it with His loving peace.♥