Reading
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4:23.
Reflection
Sunday, Pastor Mark talked about caring for others. He called it the “The Relationship Question.” It made me think of the lesson I was teaching Wednesday night at Acts 2 University. The writer of Proverbs, traditionally Solomon, taught that in order to love and care for others we had to make sure our heart was right with God. So how do we keep our heart right?
First: Guard the source, not the symptoms. We spend our energy managing the streams, the sharp word we wish we could take back, the choice we regret, the mood we cannot shake, and we never think to walk upstream to the spring. This passage sends you to the source.
Second: The heart deserves the highest watch. You lock your doors, guard your passwords, protect your reputation, and leave the one thing that determines all of it, your “lev” (Hebrew for heart) wide open to whatever wants in. Solomon says reverse it. Set your best sentry here.
Finally: You keep watch, and let God post the final guard. This is not a call to anxious self-policing, lying awake patrolling your own soul. You keep watch, yes, but you were never meant to be the only one on the wall. The word “guard” is a soldier’s word, a garrison posted around a city. So set your watch tonight, then lie down: the last sentry over your heart and your life is God
When our heart is right with God then we have so much to share with those around u and we are ready to serve God’s mission in the world!
Prayer
Three things I humbly ask today, my God: Guide me to guard my source, let me keep watch over my heart and help me to remember I am not in this alone. Amen.
