Follow our dreams, let our heart lead the way! Or, Stop thinking so much and follow our heart. While those statements sound nice and feed our minds with exciting things to come from following our heart wherever it leads, the Bible paints a very different picture.
Jeremiah 17:9 calls our hearts are deceitful and most versions say our hearts are desperately sick. A sick heart could lead us into some very unpleasant places. In Proverbs 4:23 we are instructed “above all else, guard your heart”.
Guards are for protection over something that has value. All sports have protection of some sort - helmets, pads, mouth guards, and other protective items. Banks and jewelry stores are protected from theft by guards. If we have a very expensive and valuable house and luxurious car i think we will not just set guards on each sides but we will keep a tiger or a lion to look after our place lol 😂 🤣 But do we put a protective barrier or station a guard at our garbage can? No, because it has no value. In fact, we are very happy when someone carries off our garbage.
Our heart needs guarding because our heart is who we are. It is the core of our being—it’s where all our desires and passions live. It is the part of us that connects with God and other people. It’s the source of our worship, the dwelling place of God. Our heart is the place that our mind, will, and emotions come together.
The guard and protection we have for our hearts is God’s Truth. His words. His Spirit. He is the standard by which we measure all our thoughts, ideas and emotions, and His protection is available to us. Choose to guard our heart above all, or it will choose the wrong things.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Proverbs 4:23 NLT
““The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”
Jeremiah 17:9 NLT
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”
1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV
“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27 NLT
