FROM YOUR HEART - PART 2

WEDNESDAY 07 AUGUST 2024

Guarding our hearts is a relevant measure to be taken in all manner of intents and purposes. More below!

Reference: Proverbs 4:23 New International Version (NIV)

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

There is no such a method of guarding the heart which is natural; it can only be guarded by being spiritually-minded, which is fitted to make a deep difference because God is involved.

So it is a good thing to remind yourself to be a spiritually-minded Christian. In all important respects, you don't need a medicinal herb or to visit a practictioner of herbalism or fetish priest to guard your heart for you. This equally denotes that it's only the wisdom from above that can guard your heart effectively. So you must aim to develop a heart for divine wisdom. To that effect, Proverbs 23:19 reads, "Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path" (NIV). In other words, resolve to be wise and focus your heart on achieving it.

Solomonic inspired utterance reads, "I applied my heart to know, To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, To know the wickedness of folly, Even of foolishness and madness" (Ecclesiastes 7:25 NKJV). Why did Solomon make such decision? Wisdom formidably guards and shields the heart; if you give your heart to wisdom, it will fortify it and programme it toward the right path, thereby keeping it embattled against experiencing the limiting effects of foolishness and wickedness.

Believe me, divine wisdom is beyond the reach of the ordinary; it exists far above, and so, it is designed for whosoever can discover it in the "far above" realm. Proverbs 24:7 puts it this way: Wisdom is too high for fools, which implies that its inaccessible to such persons. It is equally worthy of notice that our referenced Scripture started by saying, "Above all else...guard your heart..." In that very Scripture, "Above all else" could signify "true wisdom" figuratively, for in point of fact, It is above all else!

So true wisdom demands that you guard your heart with a diligence. If you consider the book of James, it says: "But the wisdom that is FROM ABOVE is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy" (James 3:17), meaning that wisdom is far above all else, and the epitomised embodiment is Christ. When you put on Christ, He begins to dwell in your heart by faith, as your wisdom from far above. In a nutshell, He becomes your wisdom from God (1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV).

Now watch this: God Himself said, "I, the LORD, search and examine the mind, I test the heart, To give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds" (Jeremiah 17:10 AMP). Beloved, this is for you to gain the accurate understanding of how influential the heart is; it determines how we live out our morals and values, and we must take it seriously, since God searches and examines it.

Zero wonder David once prayed, "Let the sayings of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable and pleasing continually before thee, O Lord my helper, and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14 BST/CEV). Why? He knew that what goes on in the heart is open to God's eyes, and to that effect, he prayed in that manner. He later said, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11 NIV), which implies that anyone could guard his or her heart from sinfulness of negative influences - by letting the Word fill it, by storing it richly there, and by activating the dictates through actions. Stay tuned for part 3. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Proverbs 14:30; Proverbs 17:22; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Colossians 3:1-3.

Guided Prayer:

Precious heavenly Father, your Word is the shield that guards my heart and filters every desire and thought that flow from it. To that effect, my cognitive reasoning is properly grounded in the Word, which in turn, orders my steps and directs them in the path of success. By the enabling influence of your Word and Spirit, my mind and thoughts are thoroughly conditioned to align with your purpose and perfect will for my life. Thus, I make and experience enormous progress in a pertinent manner, which is the apposite and heavenward direction, in Jesus' Name, Amen!