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Table of Contents
The Guard Your Heart Scripture
Everything flows out from your heart, including success.
Several bible verses in the New Testament allude to guarding your heart, but specifically in the Book of Proverbs, in the Old Testament, The Scripture says that you are to guard your heart with all diligence.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverb 4:23)
Why? It's because thoughts, ideas, and imaginations from all sorts of places come to you all the time.
It's been said that we face advertising of all sorts throughout the day. Sometimes we're not even aware, and so the enemy can bring destructive things to our minds that hinder our success as believers.
And if we don't know that we're supposed to guard our hearts to filter out what is being sent to us, we can end up meditating or taking counsel from the wicked, and that would impede or progress according to Psalm 1.
But again, that scripture says, "Keep your heart with all diligence"
This means that you have to be watchful. You have to be paying attention and you have to do so with great effort for out of your heart springs the issues of life. This is foundational to spiritual growth in the Christian life.
If you want to be successful you have to guard your heart because on the journey to success, all sorts of things can happen, and you need to be level-headed to think the right thoughts when everything appears to be going south.
Remember your thoughts and meditation based on this scripture affect your reality!
People say that thoughts don't affect us, but they do.
Thoughts are, in fact, spiritual, and this is why the Lord Jesus says, if you lust after a woman in your heart, you've already committed adultery in your heart. We see here that lust is not just a fleeing thought, but a thought that you meditate on or make your own.
18“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20“These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.” Matthew 15:18-20
What you entertain in your heart can be sinful or righteous.
Sinful thoughts will negatively affect your success because remember the devil doesn't want you succeed in doing what God called you to do.
Righteous thoughts will make you successful.
And your thoughts do have eternal ramifications.
But as Proverbs 4:23 says, You are to guard your heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life, meaning that the things that happen in your life are affected by what comes forth from your heart.
And we see this with certain people, where we get around them and we feel a certain way. We don't know why we feel like we should avoid them, but sometimes it's because of the hatred towards us that's in their heart. So, their hatred in their heart makes us feel as if they don't like or embrace us. And so we by extension, through feeling that can feel as if that person will not embrace us, and so we move away from them.
How Many Blessings Have Moved Away From You Because You Meditated On The Wrong Things?
The thoughts that a person entertains in their heart does affect their day-to-day life. It affects how people interact with them, the type of people they encounter, their perceptions and so much more.
Not because it's invisible means that it has no Influence.
In fact, the things that are seen are created from those things that are invisible, according to Scripture.
Your success in life is first invisible before it is visible. This is why you have to pay attention to your thought life, because it reflects your invisible life and if your invisible life is poor, broken down and unsuccessful then it's only a matter of time for this to be the reality on the outside.
Likewise, if your invisible life is rich, full of God, and successful then it's only a matter of time before this is evident on the outside.
In the example that I share above, a person's spiritual state or their thoughts can be discerned. And so we are to guard our hearts to ensure that it is the will of God that we're entertaining in our hearts, so His will for our lives can manifest on the outside, because what happens on the inside affects the outside.
Read Our Inspirational Quotes (Secrets) For Success In Life
Creation is first spiritual then physical.
This is not to say that any fleeing thought is an issue, because temptations do come. This is why, as you go to the next Scripture, the Lord shows that it's not what enters but what comes out, and that which comes out is that which you entertain or meditate on.
Temptation becomes sin when you yield to it or meditate on it.
So it's not just wrong thoughts coming in; it's what you entertain that eventually comes out, and defiles you.
Success is an Inside Job
Are you entertaining or meditating on thoughts of plenty, good, favor, increase, God, righteousness, peach, strength and the like? If so, it's just a matter of time for it to flow out into your visible life!
If What You See On The Outside is Not What You Want To See, You May Need To Change What You Meditate On On The Inside
And this is one of the reasons why the Holy Spirit is placed in you, because the scripture in Proverbs says, As a man think it in his heart, so is he.
The reason for the Holy Spirit being in you is so that you can think the thoughts of God, because remember the Holy Spirit is to bring back to your remembrance everything that the Lord taught.
And so the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives is to transform the heart so that our hearts now are bent or set on God, instead of set on the fleshly and sinful nature.
So you are to guard your heart because what you meditate on will defile you if it is sinful.
And sinful thoughts make you unsuccessful in doing what God has called you to do.
But a heart that is set on God brings forth good things that do include Godly success, riches, prosperity, favor and increase in Jesus' Name.
17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. (Matthew 7:17-20)
The Making of A Good Tree Begins With Meditating On The Word of God
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
And so the Lord Jesus' statement about a good tree, and the Psalms here go hand in hand, because when you meditate on the law of the Lord, or meditate on God's word, what comes forth is the things that come from His Spirit. This is how you hear the voice of God. This is how you show yourselves to be sons of God, because you are led by His Spirit through the meditations of your heart.
Success Comes by The Holy Spirit
It's the Holy Spirit that will lead you into all truth; into all truth of who God is; into who God wants you to be, and who he has predestined you to be in Christ, Jesus.
And so, in order for, you to have success, you have to be led by the Holy Spirit. And to be led by the Holy Spirit, your meditations must be on the Word of God.
So if you're thinking about doing that new business or starting that new venture, you need to have the right meditations so that God can lead you, by His Spirit, into all truth; into all the right paths that he has predestined for your life.
- Not everything in life is for you.
- Not every business path is for you.
- Not every job or career is for you.
The way that you discern that is by meditation on The Word and the Holy Spirit using that meditation to guide you into the places that God wants you to go.
Meditation on the Word of God is foundational to spiritual growth in the Christian life.
Because you see, if you're thinking the wrong thoughts, then inevitably you'll be going the wrong way. But if you are letting your mind stay on Him, He will keep you in perfect peace, as Scripture says, guiding you and leading you according to His perfect plan for your Life.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalm 1:6)
Read Our Inspirational Quotes (Secrets) For Success In Life
So to guard your heart is to protect or shield your heart from all ungodliness and unrighteousness.
..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 (2 Corinthians 10:5)
You Decide Whether You're Troubled Or Fearful
In John 14, the Lord says that you are not to let your heart be troubled, or let it be afraid.
This means that the troubledness of the heart and the fear in the heart are under our control. And when it comes to success in life, fear is probably your number 1 enemy!
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
This is guarding the heart. This is preventing yourself from being troubled or being afraid. Why does He give this instruction? Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak, and of course, the actions will follow.
So, if your heart is filled with trouble and fear, those ungodly meditations will cause you to think the wrong thoughts.
Those thoughts will cause you to think thoughts that are against what God would want for you, and likewise, your speech and your activity will follow an ungodly path if you don't repent (change your mind).
Fearful Thoughts will rob you of success and prosperity from God.
Read Our Inspirational Quotes (Secrets) For Success In Life
Fear is a big issue when it comes to success because if you're thinking the wrong thoughts, or meditating on the wrong thoughts, you effectively block yourself from stepping into God's promises for your life. Fear blocks you from success.
This, of course, is not talking about Godly fear which we know is the beginning of wisdom.
A Fearful Heart Can Get You Oppressed
In the book of Isaiah Chapter 54, and verse 14, the scriptures talk about oppression. It says that you will not be under oppression because you will not fear.
It says specifically: In righteousness, you shall be established. You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear and from terror, for it shall not come near you (Isaiah 54:14)
Job 3:25 also gives witness that oppression is the result of a fearful heart, for he said, What I have dreaded or feared has come true.
And so to keep us on the path that God wants us to be on, we have to do as the Lord Jesus commanded and let not our hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
One of the most frequently used statements in The Scriptures is "Fear not," and this is for good reason. It's through fear that you get oppressed, shackled or relegated to a place that the enemy wants you to be, as opposed to the place that God has prepared or predestined for you to be.
And so you must not fear in order to be successful. But, to shield your heart from fear, you have to set it on something else. For if you leave it open, then it's a vacuum and all sorts of wrong thoughts can come in and grow. But if you set it on God, only thoughts that are conducive to His Word multiply.
So meditating on The Scriptures allow you to shield yourself from oppression that comes through fear. Remember:
- It's the wrong thoughts and meditations that cause you to stop going forward.
- It's the wrong thoughts and meditation that cause you to give up when you're right at your breakthrough.
- It's the wrong thoughts and meditations that cause you to sin and miss the mark.
But
- It's the right thoughts and meditation that cause you to follow through and persevere.
- It's the right thoughts and meditations from the Holy Spirit that cause you to go forward, pursue, and recover all.
And these are the thoughts that you need to meditate on; thoughts that are inspired by the word of God.
Read Our Inspirational Quotes (Secrets) For Success In Life
What does guarding your heart mean?
It's important in studying scripture that you let scripture interpret Scripture, and so for this interpretation of what guarding your heart means, we have to go to the very beginning.
We're going to go to the book of Genesis, chapter two.
And in Genesis 2:15, the Lord gives the instructions to man as to what he's supposed to do.
The Bible says:
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Before I look at the meaning of the word keep, notice that eating from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil causes death. This follows the understanding of meditation, because fruit is what comes out from the tree. And in the topic of what you meditate on, what comes out of you are words and actions. So when you eat or meditate on the words or actions (fruit) of the forbidden tree (ungodly thoughts) you will surely die. For that which comes from that tree is sin and the wages of sin is death.
But, let's get back to our study of the word, keep.
That word for keep there means to protect or guard; to ensure that it grows well. And in the passages that the Lord outlines, with regards to the Word of God as a seed, we see individuals that do not guard their hearts.
18Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (Mark4:18-19)
Why do the deceitfulness of riches, cares of the world, and lusts enter in?
Because they are not guarding their hearts. Why are they not guarding their hearts? Maybe they don't know or they don't understand. But you have to guard your heart, or else evil thoughts will choke the good things that have been placed there by God in His Word.
So what does guard your heart mean when it comes to success?
It means to keep or protect your heart from evil thoughts, by butressing your heart with the Word of God so that you go and do what God has called you to do.
If you don't, you'll become unfruitful. And Lord Jesus says that you are to have fruit that should remain, and this is for the Father's glory.
So to meditate on evil things in our heart is to deny God in effect of His glory, because evil, ungodly meditation in the heart chokes the Word planted there.
By God's grace, let us seek first God's Kingdom and His Righteousness as we do what God has designed and called us to do, guarding our hearts to ensure that we finish our course and live our lives successfully.
