Guard Your Heart

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

'Heart' is a vital center and source of one's being, emotions, and sensibilities. It is the repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs; subject to something so dear to someone's heart. The heart is also known as the seat of the intellect or imagination of one's being. Last but not least, the heart has the capacity for sympathy, generosity, and compassion. We can go on and say so many things about our hearts but one thing that I would like to bring to your attention; if anyone of us didn't guard our beautiful hearts, we might end up in unwanted circumstances and get distracted.

The moment you are distracted, you will become paralyzed to do what you were supposed to do. The Bible says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23. See carefully what the first three words say, 'Above all else' in the above verse. Those words give us the impression of urgency or of something important that needs close attention. 'Above all else' or in other words, 'Most Importantly' or 'The Number One Factor' for us to stay focused and be effective in our ministry, in work place, family and so on, is to guard our heart from any kind of distractions and offenses .

First of all, guard your heart against your own wildest desires of your flesh. If you are not careful, your own heart's desire to achieve or attain something can turn to become a distraction. Often in this life we must be able to say no to the desires of our flesh, but learn to walk in the leading of the Spirit of God, to stay focused and be effective in our real calling. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we should not have desires in our hearts, but what I'm trying to say is, not all desires in our hearts are from God. Some of the desires in our hearts could be because of our selfishness.

Besides that, guard your heart against offenses. The feeling of being offended always starts in your heart and it will go straight to your mind. Every time you are overwhelmed by offenses, automatically your mind will start to think of so many things and you will never be able to stay focused. When your heart and mind are affected, your actions will be affected as well. It will cripple your rational thinking and you will always be in depression. Normally, someone's words and actions can be the cause of 'offenses'.

Remember, it is not important what people say about you, but it is always important what God says about you. God says in the Bible that we are His beloved children 'Romans 8:16'. This is more than enough for us to excel in this life. So guard your heart from getting distracted and stay focused.