Daily devotional, April 2, 2024 Guarded Heart

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." 
Proverbs 4:23

One of the most tightly guarded places in the world is the building of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The sophisticated security measures ensure that no unauthorized person can penetrate the structure that houses close to 500,000 bars of gold. And if you think that the main reserve is within the building, well, it is not. The gold bars are stored in a vault underneath the structure below 80 feet
As followers of Jesus, we are called to tightly guard our hearts. For before we came into Christ our hearts could be the source of sinfulness: 

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander," 
Matthew 15:19

But since we have been given a new life and a new purpose in Christ, we have to make sure that our hearts will not be corrupted as the direction of our lives depend on it:

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." 
Ezekiel 36:26

The Bible says that the heart can be deceiving, but since our Heavenly Father is powerful and all-knowing, He knows what is in our heart. He knows if it is hardened, He knows as well if it has gone cold. The Lord also knows if we have a double heart or an unbelieving and unclean heart. And so it is in our best interest to guard it. The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah says:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” 
Jeremiah 17:9-10

When we do not guard our hearts, we can easily fall into sin. We can go back to our old ways. We can easily believe the enemy’s lies that we are not worthy of the Lord’s love. When our hearts are unguarded, we can find it harder to move on from a temporary spiritual setback and wallow in anxiety and depression. We might even find it easy to go back to our former sinful lifestyle instead of going back to the Lord and repenting. We really should do all we can to protect the new heart we have been given.

So how do we do that? How do we guard our hearts? One of the best ways to guard it is by ensuring that it is a treasure trove of God’s words. That we delight and continue to fill our hearts and meditate on the scripture that we read, and live its lessons in our day-to-day lives:

"My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man." Proverbs 3:1-4

In his letter to the Philippian Church, the Apostle Paul assures that communicating with God through prayer guards the heart:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 
Philippians 4:6-7

And so when tempted, anxious, or scared, call on the Lord. At all times, secure your heart against idols and in going back to your former way of life and cycle of sin. Nourishing a close relationship with Jesus Christ through daily quiet time of prayer and intentional bible reading and reflection, will help you anchor your heart to our Heavenly King.

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Proverbs 3:1-8 andMatthew 15:15-20 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: How do you guard your heart against things that can hurt your spiritual life?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, help me guard my heart so that I can always do things that are pleasing to you. I want to live a life of praise and worship to you, as you always want the best for me. Amen.