Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 4:23

by David Chadwick

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23

Today’s proverb tells us about the importance of guarding our hearts. Out of our hearts flow the springs of all life. There is a phrase that I've lived by for many years that I want to share with you again today: “The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.”

The core of everything that you have experienced, are experiencing, and will experience is a heart issue. Your heart carries the depths of your joys, pains, trials, and victories. Because of that, it must be regularly purified (Psalm 51:10), for it is only with a pure heart that we see God (Matthew 5:8).

Think of your heart as a door through which anything, both good and bad, can enter. How do things enter this door? Well, it first has to come through one of your gates. There are all sorts of gates in which things can access your heart: your eyes, your ears, your mouth, words from others, and even your mind.

We need to make sure we are vigilant toward anything that could enter our heart. Think with me for a moment. What do you watch on TV and in movies? What do you listen to? What kinds of material do you read? What thoughts do you imagine and ruminate over and over again? Once something comes in your gates, it will either edify your heart or defile your heart. This is why it’s so important to guard your gates.

Is there anything you are letting your eyes gaze upon that is corrupting your heart? Are there any words entering your brain that are hurting your heart? If so, I pray you will be diligent to guard yourself against anything and everything that could negatively impact your wellspring of all life–your heart.

People often wrongly think that feelings must be the root of our actions and wrongly believe they can only respond to what they feel. But the Bible teaches differently. It says that our thoughts are the root of what we feel, and then we respond to our feelings through our actions. Therefore, if we guard our hearts rightly, we will feel rightly and will then behave rightly.

Everything flows from the heart, so guard your heart with all vigilance.