Guard your heart with all diligence because out of it, flows the springs of life
Proverbs 4:23
The above scripture must have been one of the scriptures I came to know easily as I became a new creation in Christ. It is one that is popularly quoted by many of us in the faith. To be honest, I am not sure how I understood it five years ago but new light was shed upon it for me recently and I would like to share it with you this week. I find it amazing that every time God’s word hits me the way that Proverbs 4:23 hit this last week it always feels brand new, feels like I never understood it before. The old knowledge is passed away and it is replaced with the new knowledge that the Holy Spirit shares with me at that moment. Like new, fresh wine, “e dey always shack my body” 🙂 To you who may not understand pidgin English, “like new, fresh wine, it intoxicates me”
At this moment, I understand that there may be at least two calls to action when it comes to guarding our hearts; the kind of guard that we put in place and ensuring the guard around or over our heart is up-to-date.
The kind of Guard put in place around or over our hearts:
I somewhat have the understanding that guarding the heart may be relative to different people; to some people, it may mean guarding their hearts against getting hurt by people. To others, it may mean guarding their hearts against the knowledge of something which may not be completely wrong in itself because the guarding is done for reasons which are also relative. I’d like to point out here that the core reason for guarding our hearts is seen in Proverbs 4:23. Guarding of our hearts has been advised because out of our hearts, the course of our lives is shaped. The kind of things we internalize, analyze, ingest has a way of shaping the way we express ourselves. For example, for one who has invested so much in studying finance, ingesting materials about finance goes a long way in shaping how the recipient of these materials behaves or treats finances.
Now, this chapter of Proverbs was written by wise King Solomon who looks like he is addressing his beloved son or someone dear to him. He was more or less giving the best advice any father could give a child. Proverbs chapter 4 verse 20 calls his beloved’s attention to his words. He says to his beloved, listen attentively to these words of mine, let it sink into your heart because they give life and health to the whole body – Proverbs 4:20-21. This verse precedes the verse which tells us to guard our hearts and in my opinion is a pointer to what should be used to guard our hearts – God’s word. So let us imagine something together, every time one comes to visit me at home, the first thing they’d see is the door to my apartment or the door to my room, right? In the same way, we can say that everything that tries to gain entrance into our lives first meets with our hearts; where it is filtered out or allowed to enter. These things that may try to gain entrance may vary in form, size, or shape.
My question to us today is, “when different things including the fiery darts of the enemy try to gain entrance into your heart, what kind of guard do they meet at the entrance of your hearts?” When I say fiery dart of the enemy, best believe that the enemy stays trying to gain entrance into our hearts more often than we can imagine. – Ephesians 6:16. I also love how this scripture in Ephesians 6:16 also points us to shield our hearts with faith which is the knowledge & word of God in order to avoid being conquered by the fiery dart of the enemy. Imagine the enemy throws at your heart the fiery dart of hate towards your neighbor but your heart has been guarded with the word of God which says to love your neighbor as yourself – Mark 12:31. The fiery dart will most definitely bounce back to the enemy.
At this moment, I believe that this is the kind of guarding of our heart the Lord is calling us to. Guarding of our heart that causes all forms of filth to stay off, bounce off or bounce back at the enemy.
Keep Our Guard Up-to-date:
When the word of God is put in place as the guard of our hearts, there is also the part of maintenance, ensuring the guard over and around our hearts is up-to-date. Many systems in the world that function optimally and have longevity at the core of their traits most definitely have maintenance as part of their routine. I also strongly believe this applies to us as Christians, staying committed to growing in the knowledge of God’s word helps to shape the course of our lives. It also helps to stay guarded against the reinforced fiery dart of the enemy that may be re-fired at any time.