Did you know that there is a common source from which flows everything you think, every attitude you have, everything you say, every plan you make, and everything you do? The common source of all of these things is the spiritual heart. The heart is the innermost part of our being, and the condition of our heart will determine everything about us. Your heart defines who you really are on the inside, and therefore determines the actions that you will take in daily life. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we give careful and constant consideration to the condition of our hearts.
Listen to these words of wisdom from Proverbs: “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NAS95) The heart is pictured here as a bubbling spring, the source of all things that flow out from your life. If the “streams” that flow out from your life (the thoughts, the attitudes, the words, the actions) are evil, it is because the source of those streams—the heart—is defiled. This is why we must be diligent to guard our heart and not let anything pollute it.
How can we guard our hearts? Let’s look at the previous verses to see what we must do. “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body.” (Proverbs 4:20-22 NAS95) We must continue to pay close attention to words of wisdom. When we don’t, our heart is in great danger. I have seen it happen many times; people stop taking the word of God to heart, and bad things always follow. Why? Because in the absence of the wisdom of God, the spring of life becomes polluted, and that pollution will flow downstream.
But just as the heart can be polluted, it can also be purified and cleansed. God can bring continual renewal to our defiled hearts. And when God cleanses our hearts, it is a certainty that beautiful, wonderful things will flow from our lives. If we will be diligent to let His word in, to respond in faith to it, to be led by His Spirit, then life and health will flow from our innermost being. And not only will we find blessings in our own lives, but we will be a blessing to those around us.
—Scott Colvin
while today 