Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23
This week we began the process of packing up our house. I started with a hutch that we are planning to sell. It took all day as I was vigilant to wrap things carefully…especially the important items. Nothing we have is worth much. However, many of the items have significant sentimental value. Some are gifts while others are dishes that my parents used which evoke emotional responses as well as fond memories. As I carefully packed each item and placed the most treasured items in boxes that we will personally handle, I was challenged with the thought that I might possibly be putting more energy into protecting mere household goods than I do in protecting my mind, my soul, and the gospel. That experience has had me pondering this topic all week and challenged my thoughts and behaviors.
Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap. Luke 21:34
This warning from our Lord encourages us to guard our hearts, minds and souls so that we are prepared for Christ’s return. Nothing in this life should distract us or pull us away from our relationship with our Savior or the precepts that God has given us. Rather God’s word and His precepts should guide how we think and live. By giving principal importance to the things of God and our relationship with Him we retain soft teachable hearts. However, when we get distracted or drift, our hearts become numb or worse hardened to the things of God. To live well is to protect ourselves by resolutely drawing close to God and allowing Him direct our lives as He sees fit for His glory and our good.
He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles. Proverbs 21:23
Several passages in scripture discuss the need to guard our speech. Here there is twofold purpose. As indicated in this passage, guarding our speech (as well as our actions) protects us from troubles. We often ask God to protect us from harm, but how often do we pray as Jabez did (See 1 Chronicles 4:10) that He would keep us from harming others as well. By guarding our behaviors, we keep ourselves from inflicting pain as well protecting ourselves from the consequences that would follow. Having been convicted of this need, I have begun to regularly pray this for my family as well as myself.
Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. 2 Timothy 1:13-14
Another consideration is the gospel that we have been given. As indicated, we rely on the Holy Spirit to help us in this regard. We hold to its standards even when we find them to be difficult or contrary to cultural tendencies. Just as we don’t allow the worries of the world to dilute or choke out our faith, we don’t allow false teachers or cultural wisdom dilute, alter, or otherwise undermine the word of God and His precepts. The gospel is key to our faith; protecting it protects our hearts and minds as well.
Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul. Psalm 54:4
As with any matter of faith and life, we are not alone. We are not capable in and of ourselves to manage independently, but rather, must rely on the power, wisdom and instruction of our God. Our Heavenly Father gives us the responsibility to guard our hearts, minds, souls, speech, and actions as well as the gospel; however, He helps us and sustains us as we seek to serve Him faithfully. He does this faithfully through the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. Psalm 121:8
We guard our hearts, minds, souls, and the gospel so that we maintain a healthy eternal perspective. In so doing, we protect ourselves from unnecessary distraction. Peter sank in the water because he focused on the waves not the Master. Even as I write, I’m struggling to apply this in my life. I am desperately trying to protect my thoughts and beliefs. The challenges of my health issues make the thought of moving overwhelming. My weaknesses make me dread the thoughts of living in a new area and having to learn my way around. Not the least of my concerns is that we are scheduled to close on the sale of our current home in 22 days. We have no new home in sight, let alone being in the process of purchasing. The costs to move twice are daunting. However, even in my worries and distractions I see that hand of God guarding me. My wife knowing my anxiety called to reassure me and recenter my thoughts. She spoke truth into my distress. An ever faithful friend also checked on me and offered similar godly wisdom. Our pastor and his wife who are buying our home are very sensitive to our situation and provided much comfort today as they waited for the inspection to be completed. Yet God has been providing for this day for years in that the music that I am using to focus on God rather than my anxieties is the playlist that I put together for my father’s funeral four years ago. It is a playlist that was never used for its intended purpose, but has been used in many situations to calm my fears and concerns. My Heavenly Father also guards me in that, as I have matured in faith, He has allowed me to see His hand at work in every detail of my present life. That new insight has allowed me to look back and see how He has guarded me in the past. Those two realities together allow me to look forward in faith trusting that He will guard my future as He has my present and past. I pray that you too may see the hand God at work in your life to guard you and help you to protect your mind, heart, soul, behaviors, and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.