Start Your New Life Today by Joyce Meyer

Author:Joyce Meyer
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Religion
ISBN: 9780446545037
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 2008-08-04T22:00:00+00:00

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If we are not walking in love and the other fruit of the spirit we can be a huge disappointment to someone who is truly searching for something genuine to believe in.

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CHAPTER 45

Guarding Our Hearts

In Proverbs 4:23 we read that God tells us to guard our hearts—to watch over them carefully. But what does that really mean? It means to be alert or watchful about the ways of the enemy. It is easy to become careless about guarding our hearts and being alert to Satan’s subtle tactics when things are going our way and God is pouring out His blessings on our lives. It is sad, but the truth is, when things go really well for a long time we often get lazy and stop doing what we should be doing. We need to guard our hearts diligently, not just occasionally.

Instead of using the word guard, I like to think of it this way: We need to post a sentinel around our hearts. Think of what a guard or sentinel does—he’s on duty. He watches for the enemy to attack. He’s not just ready; he’s actively watchful and prepared to resist all attacks from the enemy. This is how we need to live—with a trustworthy sentinel. It doesn’t mean we live in fear or constantly have to check to see if the devil is sneaking around. Think of it more as posting a sentinel to do that for us.

What kind of sentinel do we need? I think of the two most obvious ones: prayer and the Word of God. If we pray for God’s Holy Spirit to help us guard our hearts, He will honor that request. When the enemy creeps up, the Holy Spirit will remind us of a scripture and we can meditate on it or speak it out loud and the enemy will flee.

In Philippians 4:6–7, Paul says not to fret or have any anxiety about anything; in a sense he is saying, if we push away our anxieties (which we do by prayer) and fill our hearts with thanksgiving, God’s peace stands guard over us. God helps us resist the attack of the enemy.

Don’t minimize thanksgiving, for it is powerful. As we give thanks to God through our words and our songs, we are guarding our hearts. As the old hymn says, we should count our blessings one by one and name them to rehearse what God has done for us. It is more than just singing a few words; it is actually pausing on purpose to remember all the good things God has done in our lives. As we rejoice over past blessings, we open ourselves to more blessings in the future.

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