March 26: Above All Else

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Our heart is the core of our being. According to Proverbs 4:23, our heart is the fountain of all of our conduct—everything we think, feel, and choose comes out of our heart. On the other hand, this verse highlights a Biblical paradox: Even though we conduct ourselves out of our heart, our conduct can influence the state of our heart. But how do we guard the state of our heart or how do we keep our heart “with all vigilance” (as the ESV states it)?

The rest of Proverbs 4 (ESV) gives some guidance as to how we should guard our heart.

Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.

Verse 25 states that our eyes and our gaze should be straight before us. What we choose to focus on with the eyes of our heart, what preoccupies our gaze, really matters. Jesus states that, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22-23a). The spiritual state of our heart depends on what we are taking in and what is preoccupying our thoughts. If we are careless in what we choose to contemplate on or preoccupy ourselves with unholy things, what we choose to do with our body and our conduct will be led astray from wholehearted devotion to God.

“The moral gaze is to be steadily fixed, because if it wanders indolently, lasciviously, aimlessly, it imperils the purity of the soul.” – Pulpit Commentary on Proverbs 4

As we continue to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4), preoccupy our thoughts with Him, and behold His glory, we will be transformed more into His image from the inside out (2 Corinthians 3:18). Are we fixing our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, remembering that what we can see is temporary but that which we cannot see with our physical eyes is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16)? Are we fixing our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)? Are we setting our minds on things that are above and not the things that are on the earth (Colossians 3:2)? A single-minded focus on the Lord will surely keep our ways sure!

“Father, help us during this unique time of ‘sheltering in place’

to learn more and more to gaze upon and to preoccupy

our thoughts, minds, and hearts

on the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Shelter in Peace,

Connie Johnson