Guard Your Heart

Sometimes we can look at what people require of us but ignore what we believe about ourselves.  That’s why it is important to guard our heart.  To guard means to protect and to actively be aware of what you feel and know to be true.  It is so important to take the time to look yourself in the mirror of truth so that you grow and mature emotionally and spiritually.

The only way to guard your heart, is to be able to tell yourself the truth about your innermost feelings.  Do you know your own heart?  The scripture instructs us to “guard your heart for out of it come the issues of life.”  It is also about living in this world peaceably with others. I find that in counseling others through my many years as a Licensed Professional Counselor it is difficult for people to actually tell themselves the truth.  Why? Because the world we live expects us to believe and hold to specific beliefs and cultures.  Most people want to be accepted and approved. The human response is to answer others in such a way as to be accepted. When we apply for a job, there is usually a job description.  If we meet those requirements, we are more likely to get the job.  Thus, most of our life we are given specific rules and guidelines in order to be or accomplish what we want in life. 

If one can actually look into the mirror of truth it becomes freeing? The ability to actually tell yourself the truth is both an emotional and spiritual experience.  It is then you can begin to follow your dreams and be at peace with yourself and your others. Yes, it is important to conform to certain requirements when you are hired by a company in order to fulfill your obligation for employment.  Discipline is a necessary part of growth in becoming a human being that exemplifies love for oneself and others.  However, all the time you are fulfilling your daily duties remember that you must seek to be true to yourself so that you don’t lose your identity.  Who you are is about being free to follow the desires of your heart.  It ultimately is about fulfilling your destiny and finding your purpose.

Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” One’s heart is the determining factor of whether or not you live a life free from what other people think.  Your heart is a place of finding freedom, joy and fulfillment in who you are and what God has destined you to be.

There is another scripture that tells us, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45 reference) What is in your heart cannot be hidden forever.  Sooner or later what you say will reveal the who you really are.  Have you ever found yourself saying something you didn’t plan to say?  If so, take an inventory of your heart by what you just said.  Sometimes this is how we catch ourselves speaking something we didn’t want to admit was in our heart.  This sudden awakening can cause us to begin to actually see what is in the mirror of our life.