Guardhouse

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

Scripture teaches that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Simply put, this means we are to love God with every single fiber of our being. We are to love Him with everything we have to give. Have you ever heard the phrase, “I love you with all of my heart?” Physically, the heart is the source of life. In the same way, spiritually speaking, the heart is in the driver’s seat of who we are. Whatever we love the most with our heart will determine what we believe and how we live.

God our Creator made us this way. He knows the importance of the heart. That is why His Word exhorts us in Proverbs 4:23 to guard our heart above all else – because everything we do flows from it. The heart encompasses the inner man…it is the essence of who we are.

What does it mean to guard your heart? The Hebrew root of that phrase is referring to an officer guarding prison with all diligence. Scripture is encouraging us to set a guard around our heart to protect it from intruders. Have you ever been to a gated community? Often there is a small guardhouse at the entrance gate with an attendant stationed to monitor who comes and goes. If you are a resident, you can go right through; but if you are a visitor, the guard will stop you, ask why you are there, and then either let you in or turn you away. God wants us to guard our hearts with the same diligence.

What we allow into our heart will greatly affect what flows out of it. Every day we are bombarded with messages, some true and some false. The books we read, movies we see, television shows we watch, social media we use, and content we view online all bang at the guardhouse of our heart, demanding entrance…itching to set up residence. Therefore, we must guard our heart above all else. How can we love God with all of our heart if it is filled with useless junk?

God, please help me to guard my heart above all else. Show me practical ways every day that I can protect my heart from the intruding lies of Satan. Thank You for Your truth…may my heart always be fully devoted to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.