GUARD YOUR HEART
Clarissa Hernandez
Today's Scripture: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23, ESV
Theme: Carefully guard what we allow into our hearts because our thoughts, habits, and choices flow from what we continually take in.
DANGER: CLIFFS AHEAD
Recently I returned from Glacier National Park. The main route across the park is called Going-to-the-Sun Road. It is a steep, narrow, winding road that seems to rest on a tiny ledge between a sheer cliff up to the heavens and a steep drop off down to the valley. It is often disorienting and somewhat terrifying. Along the outer edge of this road is a stone guard wall about two feet tall. It doesn’t look like much, but it is designed to prevent disaster.
GUARDRAILS FOR LIFE
Like those walls on the winding roads at Glacier, my husband and I built guardrails for our children when they were young. To protect them physically, we held hands in parking lots and taught them not to talk to strangers. For their mental and spiritual safety, we screened media, set device limits, monitored friendships, and established habits like daily Bible reading, prayer, and weekly church attendance. These restrictions and habits didn’t eliminate the temptation to run across the street without looking or to watch something that wasn’t appropriate, but they did cause pause. We created a low two-foot wall to slow them down, give them time to consider, and hopefully prevent disaster.
BUILDING BOUNDARIES
For quite a while, I knew it was important to build these boundaries for our children but failed to set them up for myself. I tried to make good choices about what I was ingesting, but I was not vigilantly guarding my heart as today’s Scripture instructs. My strategy was to “try hard” to make good decisions, and deal with the guilt when I let negative influences in. That worked for some time, but a few years ago I was in a low place emotionally and spiritually and I needed something more. I knew that what I was reading, watching, and how I was spending my time were filling my mind with comparison, envy and dissatisfaction.
Through a prompting of the Holy Spirit, I established two guardrails for my day: I won’t read anything (texts, email, social media stories, or the news) until I have spent time in God’s Word. I also set up a restriction feature on my phone to limit social media to 15 minutes per day.
These small guardrails dramatically changed how I started and spent my day. Instead of jumping into the day anxious about what is going on in the world or envious of someone else’s life, I start it grounded in God’s truth. Instead of mindlessly scrolling and clicking on ads for things I don’t need, I evaluate every post before viewing it to make sure it will be worth using some of my 15 minutes.
The Bible, and modern research, confirm that what we allow into our hearts dictates our actions, thoughts, and choices. Guarding our hearts is serious work, and we need to be watchful, alert, and proactive in doing so.
Make it Personal: We all face different struggles; some are easily avoided, but others need more vigilance. What areas of your life might you need to build some guardrails? Does this guardrail need to be an accountability partner? A ratings filter on search engines, songs, movies, or shows? Healthy boundaries in a relationship? Set aside time in your day to seek God and obey by following His nudges.
Pray: Dear God, Your Word clearly tells me to guard my heart with vigilance. Help me to identify the areas of weakness and give me wisdom and courage to establish healthy guardrails so that everything flowing out of my life honors You. Amen
Read: Luke 6:45, Philippians 4:8, Colossians 3:1-10
Weekly Memory Verse: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23, ESV