Read: Proverbs 4:20-27; Matthew 12:31; 15:18-19, Mark 7:21; Luke 6:46
For a moment stop and consider the number of Saints and women across the world who are so broken and empty inside and they don’t even know it. Many don’t know what an unkept heart really looks like, maybe because it’s dressed in modest apparel and sporting the all-naturale look, or its decked in the latest fashion trends and it smells like it got baptized in the fragrance bottles of Bath and Body Works. Or maybe it really looks broke, busted and disgusted and it reeks, like it hasn’t eaten, slept nor washed for days. Maybe it’s the woman who has been sorely abused and molested as a child and has become afraid to trust. Or maybe it is the sandwich maker in Subway who handles your sandwich with a vengeance, or the young lady who sounds overly perky in the Chick-fil-A drive-thru declaring it’s a great day but really it is not a great day because her heart is hurting and she is barely hanging on.
I often question why there are so many Christian women who are still dealing with deep pain in the heart. Pain which seems to have either been: self-afflicted, unaddressed, suppressed, unrepented of, or simply the result of unhealed wounds. How and why has this gone on for so long and yet there is still no change? The matters of the heart have become like a debilitating medical condition preventing us from experiencing the fullness of God. What benefit is there in preaching and praying about the redemptive power of Jesus Christ if we ourselves see no need to exercise belief and faith in the thing we preach, teach and testify about? What benefit does the born again experience (of the water and Spirit) have if we ourselves limit God in His ability and power to make us perfect and complete in His sight?
As I reflect on Part 1, I consider the fact that God loves us and He wants to give us His best. Today I wish to focus on My Heart, My Mind and My Soul in relation to Holy Ground.
In Proverbs 4, King Solomon admonishes children to “hear the instruction of a father” and “attend to know instruction”. In verses 20-27, there are at least 13 commandments and instructions given to us. In verse 23, we are admonished to “keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life”.
According to Strong’s Exhaustive Bible Concordance, the heart (Hebrew #3820 and #3824, meaning “Leb” and “Lebab”) is the center of both human and spiritual life. It includes the will, motives, feelings, affections, desires, aims, principles, thoughts and intellect of man. It is either receptive to the influences of the world or receptive to God. All of these flow from deep within.
If the heart remains unkept, if the pressing matters of the conscious are unaddressed, then what proceeds from us are the fruits of: envy, murder, strife, jealously, iniquity, rebellion, competition, dissension, lies, deception, covetousness, unforgiveness, depression and other severe mental disorders, insecurities, doubts and the like. Now we know these conditions exist in the world amongst sinners, but when these conditions exist in the church as a perpetual state of being as if it’s the norm, then something is not right.
There are too many women pastoring, preaching, teaching, ministering in song, authoring books, vlogging, blogging, tweeting, and working in other areas of ministry who are operating on unholy ground, ground that is unusable to God. Their heart is not holy ground. Though their outward adorning appears well kept and though their influence and reach seems remarkable they are not aware that their ground has gone rancid, stale, dried up, and covered in weeds.
Sisters, we need a personal revival. We must carefully and conscientiously guard, protect and maintain our heart. This is done by:
- Spending more undistracted time in prayer
- Reading and studying the Word daily
- Obeying the Word
- Sanctifying ourselves and keeping ourselves unspotted from this world
The Word of God becomes life unto the one who finds it and health to their flesh. In other words, the answer to all of our spiritual heart issues is found in Christ through the Word of God and prayer. We must surround ourselves with other believers who we can draw strength from and who have lifestyles that are well pleasing before the Lord. If you’re struggling with anything choose to connect yourself to someone who can stand alongside you in prayers, fastings, and in studying of the Word until you obtain the victory.
May the Lord give you the strength and guidance to guard your heart well. May He give you discernment and reveal to you those things that are not apparent.
In Christ, you are a warrior and you have all the spiritual tools and resources needed to guard the territory of your heart. Defend it well. Protect this holy ground. Protect your heart, mind, and soul. When we consider all these things we must ask ourselves what are we doing to influence and impact the life of another so that they may experience the abundance of this Christian life as we’ve come to know?
