Above all else,
guard your heart
for it is the wellspring of life.
Proverbs 4:23
Your heart…is it’s protection your top priority? Why should this be such an extremely important task? Take a moment to let the meaning of these words penetrate your mind:
Above all else… Make this the most important priority in your life. Use this instruction as a guide to filter your thoughts, actions, affections, desires, dreams and feelings. If your heart’s desires are set on the best that God has in mind for you ~the very purpose for which He created you ~ then you will stay on His desired path for your life, and you won’t veer off course.
…Guard Your Heart… You guard things that are valuable to you, things that you treasure, things that you want to keep safe from harm, and things that you want to protect. Your heart is what drives you to action, and it is the essence of who you are. It’s the core of your being, and with it you connect to God and others. Watch over your heart with vigilance, and set up protective boundaries around it so that the desires which flow from within are pure and in line with God’s will. Consistently examine the information you take in visually (through television, movies, internet, social media, print, video games, email, texting, etc…) and audibly (through radio, cd’s, or other audio sources.) Diligently monitor the relationships in your life, and make sure that those with whom you surround yourself also want God’s best for your life. Do not give your heart to anyone who could cause you to stumble or lead you astray. Put up virtual signs within your heart which read, “NO DUMPING ALLOWED,” and don’t allow any trash to enter. You make time for the things that you love and enjoy, so make sure that the things cherished inside your heart are from God and in line with His will.
…for it is the wellspring of life…. Imagine a pure spring deep within the earth. Visualize its crystal clear waters bubbling up and flowing out to form the headwaters of a major river. Similarly, your heart is the internal fountainhead, or wellspring, from which everything else in life flows. If you fill your heart with pure, excellent and honorable things, those same types of things will cascade out of it. Don’t pollute the wellspring with dishonorable contaminants, because everything downstream will be toxic.
Your heart determines the course of life, and from your heart originates your destiny. Above all else, watch over your heart; diligently guard and protect it because from a sincere and pure heart come the good and noble things of life ~ God’s best.
everyday encouragement 