Keep Your Heart

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 (ESV) I have never been a good house cleaner. It doesn’t come to me naturally. I don’t see the dirt until it is bad. Clutter bothers me, but sometimes I get so focused on the other things on my to-do list, that I don’t observe that it is even there until it is piling up. I may even see it, but I get overwhelmed and don’t take action.

Easier to Keep than to Clean

Here is what I have learned. If I would just deal with a problem as soon as I see it, it would never develop into an overwhelming mess. If I would just keep house after cleaning it, it would be so much easier that letting it get dirty and then having to do a major declutter and clean. I think it is like that with the heart. Little thoughts sneak in and settle in our minds and hearts. They build up like dust and form into patterns. Thinking patterns that trap us and imprison us.

Stay on Guard

But if we stay on guard, watching the things that we allow into our hearts, we can throw out the trash as soon as it comes in. It is more effective and easier to keep house than it is to clean it. We should be keeping our hearts as the home for God’s presence. Keep your hearts!

Keep Your Heart

The word “heart” in the bible refers to the center of your very being. Our hearts contain our mind, will, emotions, moral compass, the source of our words and actions, etc. Unhelpful thoughts can be like little bits of dust that stray into our minds and take up residence in our hearts. If we let them in and allow them to build up, they will fill the rooms of our heart, so that there is no room for God any more.

Dusty Thought Build-Up

Little pieces of anger, bitterness, resentment, hate, discontent, etc. That seem inconsequential one their own can build quickly into patterns of feeling that thinking that take control of our hearts and lives. These patterns can stall out the plan of God for our lives, because the heart is the source of our word and ACTIONS. What we DO, springs from our hearts. In fact, all life flows from the heart.

What We DO, Springs From our Hearts

If we clog it up with thought dust, we are holding back what our lives can be. On the other hand, if we choose to intentionally think God-centered thoughts: uplifting, positive, lovely, true, worthy thoughts, we are cleaning and furnishing our hearts as a home for the living God. We are keeping heart, by getting rid of the dust and trash and replacing it with shiny, biblical thoughts and emotions.

Take Captive Your Thoughts

You might say, “I can’t help what I think!” But I say that that is just not true. You may not be able to stop a thought popping into your head, but what you do next is very much in your control. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ 2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) Take every thought captive. We have to keep watch, be on guard. We have to be observant of our thought life – paying attention and assessing thoughts as they come in. Deciding which are worthy of staying and which need to be kicked to the curb.

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

In Proverbs 4:23, the word “vigilance” is from the Hebrew word “mish-mar,” which means to guard, keep, preserve, cultivate, as close a watch as you would keep on a prisoner in a jail.

Vigilance

It goes right along with “taking captive every thought unto Christ Jesus.” So, this is the start of a series about keeping hearts and keeping homes. I want to get my house and my heart into order so that God’s presence will fill both and set into place a foundation for the future God has for my family. Each post will have an action step for keeping house tidy, paired with an action step for keeping the heart pure. If you already have great house-keeping routines in place, feel free to just implement the heart action step. Let me know in the comments your thoughts and suggestions for keeping house and heart. Or, let me know what problem areas you have with either of these areas, and I will do my best to help out!

Action Step:

One of the easiest places to start is the paper that enters our homes on a daily basis through the mail. Tossing the mail on the dining room table or the kitchen counter just makes the house feel cluttered and messy. As soon as you bring the mail into the house, stand at the trash can and process the mail. If you are like me and don’t ever get around to using coupons, throw them away right away. Better to keep your home and purse free of clutter than to cling to the idea that you might one day remember that you have a coupon BEFORE you make the purchase. Throw away the envelopes and the extra paper from all pieces of mail. Enter all upcoming events/opportunities that you want to remember on your calendar (a physical one or the digital one on your phone – Google Calendar is great!) – then throw away the paper it came on. Designate one place for bills and mail that has to be processed and kept. I have a box that sits on a bookshelf. At least twice a month, schedule a time in your calendar to pay and file bills, emptying this box. I plan mine around the dates of our paychecks. Your mail is dealt with in less than 5 minutes. It doesn’t build up and become a source of overwhelm and frustration. As we sort mail in that five minutes, let’s also take inventory of our hearts. What small thoughts of resentment, bitterness, disobedience, anger, etc. have I allowed to enter the home of my heart today? Boot it out! Replace it with thoughts that are true, lovely, worthy of good report, and excellent. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 (ESV) This is an essential part of keeping heart, like we keep house.

Prayer:

Dear God, help us to keep our hearts and homes as vessels for Your presence. Remind us to get rid of trash as soon as we notice it in both places. Bring to our attention areas of our hearts and lives that need tidying up. Thank you that we can partner with you to build a great life and a hopeful future. In Jesus’ name, amen. Comment below your thoughts or requests about keeping house and keeping heart! Thanks! Also, I have free printables in the Devotion in Action Resource Library for this series if you would like to Bible art journal along with me! If you don’t have the password to the Resource Library, click here!