SPIRITUAL VITAMIN DEVOTIONAL

"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life."
~Proverbs 4:23

There are broken hearts, mended hearts, heavy hearts and hardened hearts. We are wounded in the heart, grow weary in our hearts and have numerous "issues" of the heart. There are tender hearts and hard calloused hearts. And of course, we all struggle with prideful hearts... Everything about our lives is an "issue" of the heart.

Matters of the heart matter...yet so many Christians are not experiencing the joy and peace as promised in the word of God. So many feel and look defeated, depressed and disconnected. We go to church, buy Christian best sellers, attend bible studies and flock to conferences hoping for a quick fix to our problems. We have become bible study and conference junkies! They make us feel good temporarily, but as the days go by, we are faced with the same issues of life that drag us down... We are trying to become more spiritual, yet we are hurting emotionally. The "issues" of our heart are overwhelming, and yet we are told to be more spiritual and get the focus off of self. Something is not working. It appears the body of Christ is weaker and less spiritual.

How easy it is to go through the motions of going to church and reading our Bibles. Guarding the matters of our hearts is much more challenging. We stay busy and on the run, so as not to deal with the real issues of the heart. Yet, we are so quick to say, "She has issues". Why is it so easy to look at others but not ourselves?

The word "guard" in Hebrew means to attend to, maintain and protect. We must tend to, maintain and protect our hearts, for as the heart goes, so goes the "issues" of life. Someone once said that happiness is an inside job. No one else can make you happy. No one else can guard or tend to your heart. We must accept responsibility for the matters of our hearts and diligently work through each issue in order for us to live the life God has called us to. Matters of the heart matter to God. Do they matter to you? Are you guarding and tending to the matters of your heart?

Prayer:
Father, thank you that the matters of my heart matter to you. Search my heart Lord and reveal the broken places (the issues) that need tending to. Create a clean heart in me and renew a steadfast spirit. Amen

Copyright © 2001-2009 Deborah Collins.

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