Guarding What Matters Most
Well, bless your heart, friend! It’s so great to have you poppin’ in. So, come on up here to this ol’ front porch and pull up a rocker. Now, try to picture this. I was just sittin’ out here this morning, tryin’ to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee, when a lanky ol’ Banty rooster proudly strutted across the yard like he plum owned the whole county. Right behind him came an ol’ raccoon that plum looked like it had stayed up all night makin’ bad decisions. They both froze, stared at each other, and then went their separate ways. It plum struck me how critters can look peaceful on the outside while carryin’ a whole storm inside just like two church folks pretendin’ they did not just argue in the parking lot. And that’s exactly why the Lord tells us to pay close attention to the heart because what’s goin’ on in there plum shapes everything that comes out of us.
Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it are the sources of life.” And to deepen this truth, let us weave in Psalm 51:10. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” These two verses together remind us that the heart ain’t just a place where feelin’s live. It’s the steerin’ wheel of your whole life. If the heart is off, everything else gits to wobblin’ around like an ol’ wagon with a crooked wheel.
But then, friend, the Lord takes it even further in Jeremiah 17:10. “I the Lord search the heart. I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.” That there means God don’t just glance at the heart. He plum examines it like a farmer checking the soil before planting seed. He knows what’s growin’ in there long before anybody else does.
The heart is where motives hide and truth settles. You can look spiritual on the outside yet be dry as a cornfield in the heat of August on the inside. You can shout louder than an ol’ donkey brayin’ at sunrise and still have a heart that’s sho’-nuff’ colder than a lil’ ol’ frog sittin’ on a river rock. God sees past the noise. He sees the real you. And He invites you to guard your heart like an ol’ farmer guards his best seed.
There are signs when the heart gits real unhealthy. You can act spiritual in public but be careless in private. You can look busy in ministry but be lazy in prayer. You can fall under the anointin’ like a silly lil’ ol’ faintin’ goat yet never be sustainin’ it. You can insist on your rights even when humility would serve you a whole lot better. Pride always gits to showin’ up like an ol’ Brahma bull that refuses to be led.
Jesus gave us a picture of a healthy heart in Luke 9:46-48. When the disciples argued over greatness, He picked up a child. Why a child? Because a child is malleable. A child is teachable. A child is real. A child does not pretend to be somethin’ it isn’t. That there’s the kind of heart God can shape.
Father, create in me a clean heart. Make me tender, teachable, and honest before You. Help me guard my heart with vigilance and serve You with sincerity. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Now, friend, as you journey on back into the chores of your day, you gotta tote this here truth with you like a good walkin’ stick on a long trail. Your heart isn’t poor or weak like a porch rail wobblin’ under a curious armadillo tryin’ to get through. It’s plum sturdy enough to shape your future. It’s plum tender enough to be influenced by every choice you make. It’s plum powerful enough to steer your life like a river carvin’ its way through a canyon. You gotta guard your heart real well. Keep it real clean. And git to lettin’ God mold it into somethin’ really beautiful that brings honor and glory to Him.
With joy,
Gwen
