Guarding Your Heart

It's hard to believe it's been two months since I've posted. Life intervened... I had a health issue that had literally grown out of all proportion and needed to be addressed, as well as a variety of messes in my personal life that I  couldn't put off any longer. But, I'm back! Today, with a lesson on why bad things sometimes happen to us.


If you are anything like me, you probably wonder why, when you go to church, study God's Word, try to live a good life, practice kindness, mercy, love and grace, tithe, eat right, exercise -- why do bad things happen to me?  And why does it sometimes seem to follow the old adage "when it rains it pours?"


It's easy to blame the enemy, and see everything that goes wrong in our life as a direct attack. But, I think we give the devil too much credit when we do this.
The fact of the matter is, tires wear out, so do appliances. If you own a home, there are general maintenance and repairs that need to be addressed on a regular basis. 


While you may feel as though you are under attack when everything seems to break down at once, are you? Or did you just neglect to maintain and replace things as you should have before they wore out?


What about your finances? Do you save money aside for the inevitable emergencies that will come your way? Or do you spend whatever comes into your hands and then have to finance life's little emergencies instead of paying cash for them?


These are simple, nuts and bolts kind of things that we should be addressing on a daily basis. 


Then there are the other things that occur in our lives... things that we can't find a direct cause from our actions. But, are these attacks of the enemy, or could they have also been avoided in some way?


The problem with the faith message is that it places the responsibility for your life circumstances squarely on your shoulders. 


If your life seems to be comprised of one disaster after another, maybe it's time to look at what you are feeding on. What kind of movies do you watch? What kind of books do you read? What kind of music do you listen to? How much time do you spend in God's Word?

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."~Proverbs 4:23 (New Living Translation)

Are you guarding your heart, or are you allowing the news, the entertainment industry, your friends and family fill your heart and mind with things that are ungodly?


If you are living in the world 7 days a week and relying on a church service once a week to provide you with the spiritual food you need to survive, you are starving yourself!


Here's the problem: There is evil and negativity all around us. We live in a cursed earth. You are constantly being bombarded with sights and sounds that have nothing to do with God's Truth. What are you putting in your mind -- and in what quantity -- to counteract that?


The course of your life is determined by what you allow into your heart and mind. If you don't like your circumstances, maybe you need to strengthen your guard.