“Keep your heart with all vigilance. For from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23
Keeping our hearts is of vital importance for the people of God. Solomon gave this instruction to his son in the context of encouraging him to listen to Solomon’s counsel, keeping it before his eyes and in his heart. Just as Solomon’s son needed to learn the value of and practice of being faithful to “keep”, we need to do the same.
The word “keep” means to guard. We must guard our hearts well. For there are many things in this world that seek to threaten and taint the purity of our hearts from without, as well as the temptations of our flesh from within. Satan loves to strike us in our core and bring us down from the inside, which affects all other areas of our lives. Our Lord teaches us that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). So, we have many reasons to guard them and guard them well. One big one, Solomon says is because from the heart “flow the springs of life”. Matthew Henry commented on this verse, “Our lives will be regular or irregular, comfortable or uncomfortable, according as our hearts are kept or neglected.”
Practically, we need to keep our hearts from being defiled by sin. We should consider the maintaining of the purity of our hearts as we would a precious jewel. Doing so should hold that great of a value and importance to us, for such guarding is a command from our God. We need to keep out bad thoughts, and fill our minds with that which is good and wholesome. We need to keep our affections on the right things and within appropriate boundaries, in accordance with His Word.
As we all have our share of success, as well as weakness and frailty in this battle, I encourage you to run to Jesus for help when you feel like you’re struggling to keep up your guard. Also, seek ways and opportunities to encourage, comfort and sharpen one another in this area as we walk together. Keep your hearts well, my friends, for from them flow the springs of life.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Miller