"Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."
What does it mean to "keep thy heart"?
Verses flow through my mind as I lay in bed at night, waiting for sleep to claim me. The other night I knew that God had put all these "heart" verses together to show me a truth that I had been thinking a lot about lately, but didn't have any concrete proof of: We, as wives, will someday be accountable for how well we guarded our husband's hearts.
Bear with me. I can explain. :)
We tend to get an "am I my brother's keeper?" attitude when our husbands are not living in (what we sanctimoniously call) "obedience to God". We think "He's a big boy. He's responsible for his own stupidity." (Don't tell me you haven't had such thoughts. ;) LOL) And you resent the fact that he is no longer the man you thought you had married. Over time, you begin to wonder how your marriage got to the point it's at; unfulfilled and unloving. (As a side note: When you see other women who have a truly great marriage don't be tempted to compare your spouse to theirs. Good wives don't have any less to "put up with" than bad wives. They simply respond differently to the problems.)
As women, I think we forget the power of our influence over the lives of our loved ones. Especially our husbands. They can't escape our influence any more than they could escape our smell if we hadn't showered in a week.
I think that the devil often lulls us into a sense of complacency concerning this because he understands how powerful influence is if we do not, and wants nothing more than to make us think that where we are in this area is "good enough". An example of this would be those who don't wear deodorant. They get to a point where they can no longer smell themselves even when the odor is overwhelming, but every one around them gladly gives them a wide berth.
Did you know that your mind is the seat of your emotions? Basically that means that what and how you think controls how you will feel. We have some 40,000 thoughts per day. That's some 40,000 opportunities for the devil to put lies into our heads that we can choose, or choose not to, believe. But it's a battle. Our minds are a spiritual battlefield.
Your "heart" is your mind.
Remember the verse, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he"? It's oh. so. true. Your thoughts develop your heart. It's a two sided coin though. The beauty of it is that you get to choose your own heart; the bane of it is that you get to choose your own heart.
I also think of the sayings "You aren't what you think you are, but what you think, you are." And from Facing The Giants, "Your attitude is like the aroma of your heart." That reminds me of "you can catch more bees with honey."
A truly virtuous woman is a rare thing indeed. So rare that scripture says that her price if "far above" rubies! Anyone can choose to be negative and critical. That's easy. People like that are everywhere. And nobody wants to be around them. Their attitude "stinks". What's hard, and what will set you apart if you choose it, is being positive and affirming.
Have you ever noticed in Proverbs 31 the very first thing mentioned that makes a woman "virtuous"? It's that "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her so that he will have no need of spoil." When something spoils it stinks, right? If your attitude stinks, chances are, your husband's will to. That's the power of influence. His heart will safely trust in yours only if it draws him in. The aroma has be be attractive.
"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" Our hearts (thoughts) are not going to be sweet unless we put forth a concentrated effort to make them so. Not relying on our own goodness, and strength to do it, but God's. "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing."
So how do we guard our hearts, and our husband's in the process? By "casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." It boils down to a mere matter of the will. Would people around you describe you as a "strong-willed" person? If so, if it was ever true before, let it be true now and put to good use in this one area.
Philippians 4:6-8 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
To me the "with all diligence" indicates a sense of urgency. The truth that I haven't been able to escape in contemplating all this is that "I can't expect to be a good influence if I am not on purpose keeping my heart!" But I don't want my influence or aroma to just be "good", I want it to be beautiful. So much so that my attitude draws everyone around me in, toward the influence of Christ. But that takes effort. Hard work. We can't afford to be lazy in this area. Why? Because of the issues of life this verse is talking about.
I often pray that the Lord would guard Josh's heart, mind, eyes, and ears as he's at work. I know that the devil is walking about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. I pray that he doesn't see Josh as one of those devourable people. Little did I realize how very much his vulnerability depends upon me.
The devil offers visual candy everywhere for our husbands to notice and be tempted to partake of; on billboards, in men's restrooms, in checkout lines, walking down the street..... What is going to keep your husband faithful to you? His attraction to you has to be stronger than the pull those things have on him. That's not the only thing, but it's the main thing. Yes, your husband can choose to resist temptation of his own free will, but are you making it easier, or harder for him?
Your husband can't safely entrust his heart to you and won't want to, if you are not keeping your heart. Do you want your husband to be faithful to you? To give you his heart for safe keeping? Keep your heart. Do you want your husband to be free from the addiction of pornography? Keep your heart. Do you want your husband be home more rather than escaping into his work, hobbies, or spending time with his friends? Keep your heart. Do you want to avoid driving your husband to drink (or making him wish that he could?) Keep your heart.
This also extends to your children. Do you fear your children will rebel and live their lives for the devil someday? Keep your heart. "Delight thyself also in the Lord and He will give thee the desires of thine heart!"
My husband has my heart, but what kind of heart is it? Can he entrust his heart to mine? Is it that trustworthy? While he holds my heart, it is still within my power to "keep" my heart. And I keep my heart, for the sake of his.
What does it mean to "keep thy heart"?
Verses flow through my mind as I lay in bed at night, waiting for sleep to claim me. The other night I knew that God had put all these "heart" verses together to show me a truth that I had been thinking a lot about lately, but didn't have any concrete proof of: We, as wives, will someday be accountable for how well we guarded our husband's hearts.
Bear with me. I can explain. :)
We tend to get an "am I my brother's keeper?" attitude when our husbands are not living in (what we sanctimoniously call) "obedience to God". We think "He's a big boy. He's responsible for his own stupidity." (Don't tell me you haven't had such thoughts. ;) LOL) And you resent the fact that he is no longer the man you thought you had married. Over time, you begin to wonder how your marriage got to the point it's at; unfulfilled and unloving. (As a side note: When you see other women who have a truly great marriage don't be tempted to compare your spouse to theirs. Good wives don't have any less to "put up with" than bad wives. They simply respond differently to the problems.)
As women, I think we forget the power of our influence over the lives of our loved ones. Especially our husbands. They can't escape our influence any more than they could escape our smell if we hadn't showered in a week.
I think that the devil often lulls us into a sense of complacency concerning this because he understands how powerful influence is if we do not, and wants nothing more than to make us think that where we are in this area is "good enough". An example of this would be those who don't wear deodorant. They get to a point where they can no longer smell themselves even when the odor is overwhelming, but every one around them gladly gives them a wide berth.
Did you know that your mind is the seat of your emotions? Basically that means that what and how you think controls how you will feel. We have some 40,000 thoughts per day. That's some 40,000 opportunities for the devil to put lies into our heads that we can choose, or choose not to, believe. But it's a battle. Our minds are a spiritual battlefield.
Your "heart" is your mind.
Remember the verse, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he"? It's oh. so. true. Your thoughts develop your heart. It's a two sided coin though. The beauty of it is that you get to choose your own heart; the bane of it is that you get to choose your own heart.
I also think of the sayings "You aren't what you think you are, but what you think, you are." And from Facing The Giants, "Your attitude is like the aroma of your heart." That reminds me of "you can catch more bees with honey."
A truly virtuous woman is a rare thing indeed. So rare that scripture says that her price if "far above" rubies! Anyone can choose to be negative and critical. That's easy. People like that are everywhere. And nobody wants to be around them. Their attitude "stinks". What's hard, and what will set you apart if you choose it, is being positive and affirming.
Have you ever noticed in Proverbs 31 the very first thing mentioned that makes a woman "virtuous"? It's that "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her so that he will have no need of spoil." When something spoils it stinks, right? If your attitude stinks, chances are, your husband's will to. That's the power of influence. His heart will safely trust in yours only if it draws him in. The aroma has be be attractive.
"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" Our hearts (thoughts) are not going to be sweet unless we put forth a concentrated effort to make them so. Not relying on our own goodness, and strength to do it, but God's. "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing."
So how do we guard our hearts, and our husband's in the process? By "casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." It boils down to a mere matter of the will. Would people around you describe you as a "strong-willed" person? If so, if it was ever true before, let it be true now and put to good use in this one area.
Philippians 4:6-8 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
To me the "with all diligence" indicates a sense of urgency. The truth that I haven't been able to escape in contemplating all this is that "I can't expect to be a good influence if I am not on purpose keeping my heart!" But I don't want my influence or aroma to just be "good", I want it to be beautiful. So much so that my attitude draws everyone around me in, toward the influence of Christ. But that takes effort. Hard work. We can't afford to be lazy in this area. Why? Because of the issues of life this verse is talking about.
I often pray that the Lord would guard Josh's heart, mind, eyes, and ears as he's at work. I know that the devil is walking about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. I pray that he doesn't see Josh as one of those devourable people. Little did I realize how very much his vulnerability depends upon me.
The devil offers visual candy everywhere for our husbands to notice and be tempted to partake of; on billboards, in men's restrooms, in checkout lines, walking down the street..... What is going to keep your husband faithful to you? His attraction to you has to be stronger than the pull those things have on him. That's not the only thing, but it's the main thing. Yes, your husband can choose to resist temptation of his own free will, but are you making it easier, or harder for him?
Your husband can't safely entrust his heart to you and won't want to, if you are not keeping your heart. Do you want your husband to be faithful to you? To give you his heart for safe keeping? Keep your heart. Do you want your husband to be free from the addiction of pornography? Keep your heart. Do you want your husband be home more rather than escaping into his work, hobbies, or spending time with his friends? Keep your heart. Do you want to avoid driving your husband to drink (or making him wish that he could?) Keep your heart.
This also extends to your children. Do you fear your children will rebel and live their lives for the devil someday? Keep your heart. "Delight thyself also in the Lord and He will give thee the desires of thine heart!"
My husband has my heart, but what kind of heart is it? Can he entrust his heart to mine? Is it that trustworthy? While he holds my heart, it is still within my power to "keep" my heart. And I keep my heart, for the sake of his.
2 comments:
This is the 4th time I have tried commenting on your blog so hopefully it will work this time.
This is an excellent post. Johnny even said, "wow".
Thank you for posting this to help keep us, as wives, where we need to be.
Great post--one of my favorite areas to ponder and let the Lord influence my thoughts with! Thank you!
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