“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)
Heart is the central commander of our soul and controls the direction of our life, moral choice and our daily behavior. If the function of the heart is damaged, the result would be disastrous.
“When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,” (Psalms 73:21)
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” (Matthew 12:35) If the heart is hurt, it will become weak and powerless, it will destroy the man and he will become evil.
Therefore, God expects us to cultivate our heart, to put it in priority position because it will determinate the result of our life. Therefore, we have to guard our heart and reach God’s expectation to us, we have to pay attention to the following:
1. Prevent evil heart from being started in us
“But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.” (Romans 7:8)
2. If the heart is hurt, it has to be healed
“So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.” (Psalms 143:4)
3. To make our heart in control
“Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.”(Proverbs 16:32)
4. To cultivate a heart of love
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)
5. To have a heart of passion like God towards men
“As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, LORD.” (Isaiah 26:17)
6. Always have a heart of obedience
“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” (1 Cor. 9:19)
7. Encourage others also protect the function of their heart
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” (Hebrews 10:24)
