Wellspring of Life

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Proverbs 4:23

"I left my heart in San Francisco"

"You'll never break this heart of stone."

"Soon turned out had a heart of glass"
"But don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart"

"Unbreak my heart, say you'll love me again"

"And you're here in my heart, And my heart will go on and on"
"There's nothing I can do, A total eclipse of the heart"

Heartbreak   Every human knows a little something about the heart.  Hundreds of songwriters over the years have penned lyrics expressing the heartache that comes from love, and love lost.  The Bible has plenty to say about the heart, and not surprisingly, it speaks to the sentiment of these lyrics: The heart determines the course of our life. (NLT) When our heart is broken, it taints every part of our lives and changes our outlook.  We are never the same again.

Poison    For this reason, God wants us to protect our heart, not fling it out there and let anyone and everyone stomp on it!  Neither is it in our best interest to expose our heart to all kinds of perversity or corruption.  Yet it is so easy to do in this poisonous world.

Hope  God does not leave us alone with this admonition.  The wisdom continues in chapter 4 of Proverbs as a plan is mapped out for how to guard our hearts.

1. Keep it Clean:  Don't let perversity or corruption come from our mouths
2. Eyes Ahead:  Keep our eyes on our purpose/keep focused on where we are going
3. Choose Wisely:  Carefully choose our course of action, and stay true to it
4. Stay Focused:  Don't be distracted by what is going on around us
5. Be Careful:  Keep away from evil

Crash!   Our hearts are easily corrupted.  And like a computer hard drive, once the corruption occurs, the entire system can be damaged and crash.  God knows it is in our best interest to make every effort to protect our wellspring of life!

Paul left the believers of Phillippians with a final exhortation that is helpful in keeping our hearts pure.

   

 "⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

(Philippians 4:8-9  ESV)

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will take the protection of my heart seriously.

Where am I allowing in things that will hurt my heart?

Where am I letting down my guard?