“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)
One of the first verses I memorized is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” As I’ve said before, “heart” as used in Scripture doesn’t have reference to the physical organ that pumps the blood through our body; rather, it’s like the control center of our being, similar to the “cockpit” in an airplane.
The heart is what gives direction to our life. Where our heart goes, so goes our life. So, problems occur when our heart strays or gets infatuated with the things of the world. Our heart is very fickle and is easily distracted, that’s why it’s so vital we keep it on a short leash.
What I’ve found in my own life is to the extent we maintain our godly disciplines – prayer, reading and studying the Scriptures, reading or listening to instruction through the writings of godly men and women of faith, walking faithfully with other men/women in small groups who inspire and help us guard our path, serving in some capacity in or through the church, faithful church attendance and developing a positive witness for Christ – to that extent we keep our eyes on Jesus and our feet on the right path.
Perhaps you think that it takes a lot of time to do all of those things, but it’s time well spent. I like to think of like this. The Lord gives us 24 hours a day. That translates to 96 15-minute segments. Are you willing to give Him 4 or those 96 15-minute segments for devotion to a quiet time reading His Word and prayer?
He gives us 672 15-minute segments in a week. What if we disciplined ourselves to give just 20 of those (5 hours) back to the Lord in corporate worship, service, and small group attendance? What it boils down to is 2 of 24 hours a day on average. In this season of my life I give many more than that, but Jesus is the highest priority of my life.
In one of his recent “Prayer for Today” Ray Majoran asked the Lord: “Help us to live our lives by faith and not by sight. In your perfect wisdom, melt our hearts with Your transformative power. Help us to grow into men and women who are persistent in prayer and fervent in our love for others. Draw us to your presence, O God.”
At its core there is basically only one thing that governs how we spend our time and energy: desire! We make time for what is important to us. And, yes, I understand, especially if you have a young family, time and energy are in short supply. So, realistically, you have to get creative, but by joining forces with other young families, you can make it happen if your desire is strong enough. That’s the value of a small group.
Watch one another’s kids to free up time for a “date night,” even if it’s only once a month. Have small group meetings that include the kids or pool your resources and “hire” one or two of your older kids to watch the smaller ones. The point is, we do the things that need to be done, and your walk with the Lord needs to be worth the investment.
Guarding our heart is a “family” matter, just as walking with Jesus is a family effort. We have one another’s backs; we guard one another’s hearts; we make the effort to support one another in times of celebration and times of crisis. God designed the Church to be His Family on earth where everyone belongs, loves, sacrifices, and celebrates our love for Jesus and each other.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 