Guarding Our Hearts

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever…But as for me, it is good to be near God.” Psalm 73:26, 28

Whether through temptation or complacency it is easy for our hearts and flesh to wander. We were born with a sinful nature and require both conviction and redemption for our hearts to stay centered in Christ.

Christ understands this and warns us throughout the Bible of staying near to Him so He can do His work. To keep a heart bent towards Christ is to stay in the Word daily, meditate upon Him and fellowship with Him off and on throughout the day. When I think about the many ways we communicate and fellowship through technology, I am amazed at the hours that are simply eaten up. For me, our own beloved Facebook can eat up so much of my concentration, focus and attention.

We need “heart work” each and every day to keep the flesh pure, noble and holy. Keeping us free from sin and guarded against temptation is the work of the Holy Spirit, but those gentle whispers of conviction become more silent the further we move from our focus on God. By remaining near to God, He reminds us of our pitfalls that so easily entangle and keeps us guarded from our “appetite for sin”. Each of us has a certain appetite for sin which continues throughout our life to rise to the top. Our “appetite” will be the very thing for which Satan will always resort in vulnerable situations because it has worked so many times before.

By replacing anything that steals our time with God, it ensures the protection of heart, mind and flesh against the dark powers of Satan. It returns us to the heart surrendered to God, our strength and our portion and builds a fortress against the temptation of sin.