Gardez Votre Coeur

Keep Your Heart

Guard your heart. Love God first.
"Guard your heart above all else, for from it flows the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23)

The heart is the spiritual command center of your life. What governs it determines the direction of your destiny. Scripture doesn't just suggest guarding it; it commands us to do so above all else, for what rules your heart directs your steps.

In the divine Kingdom, order is important: Love God first (Matthew 22:37-38), then love yourself in the light of His truth, and only then can you love others healthily (v. 39).

Without this divine order, love can turn into control, dependence, idolatry, or self-protection.

A heart cannot love with pure love when it is:

  • Hardened by unhealed wounds (Ezekiel 36:26; Psalm 147:3)
  • Divided between God and the world (James 1:8; 1 John 2:15)
  • Bitter and unforgiving (Hebrews 12:15; Mark 11:25)
  • Idolatrous, giving first place to something or someone other than God (Ezekiel 14:3; 1 John 5:21)

Consider Mary of Bethany: she chose presence over performance, intimacy over activity (Luke 10:39-42).
>>> Conversely, Solomon began in wisdom but fell when his heart was divided (1 Kings 11:4).
>>> David, though imperfect, maintained the flow of the Spirit by quickly returning to God's heart through repentance (Acts 13:22; Psalm 51).

Guarding your heart means:

  • Saturating it with the Word (Psalm 119:11)
  • Watching the gates of your eyes, ears, and mouth by carefully choosing what you look at, listen to, and say, for these open gates shape your thoughts, affections, and spiritual atmosphere (Proverbs 4:24-27; Luke 6:45)
  • Preserving peace through prayer (Philippians 4:6-7)
  • Walking with the wise and establishing healthy boundaries in your relationships (Proverbs 13:20; 1 Corinthians 15:33)
  • Remaining in quick repentance and forgiveness (1 John 1:9)


DO YOU DESIRE TO GUARD YOUR HEART ABOVE ALL ELSE? HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN START

  • Today, let the Holy Spirit search your heart: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)
  • Dethrone any rival. Return to your first love. Align your affections with His will. "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." (Revelation 2:4)

YOU CAN PRAY THIS
Lord Jesus, I establish You as the first love of my heart. Uproot all hardness, division, bitterness, and idols. Fill me with Your Word and keep me in Your peace. Teach me to love You above all else, to love myself healthily, and to love others as You do, so that everything that flows from my heart glorifies You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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