We all know the great hymn Before the Throne of God Above. Are you weak in the area of lust? Envy? Anger? Covetousness? The goal is to grasp the root of your sin and apply the gospel to it. He often shoots his flaming darts to those areas. Why? Because the enemy knows them very well. In the study of your own heart, you want to become familiar with your weaknesses and temptations. We want to become our own spiritual heart specialist. This means that part of our spiritual disciplines involves spiritual watchfulness. If we want to guard our heart from danger, then we must first know our heart and become familiar with it. It was John Flavel who said, “the greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God, and after conversion to keep it with him.” Is it your regular practice to keep your heart close to God? Do you make time for frequent and daily meetings with God in his word and prayer? Do you partake of the regular ordinary means of grace that God has given you to grow in godliness? Charles Bridges said that “the heart is the seat of our dearest treasure.” What treasure is your heart clinging to? Is it Christ? Is it his word? Is that you Christian? Do you understand that you are living in the midst of a spiritual battle and you must keep a close watch over your own heart? Do you know that “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet.
The wise watchman is continuously looking out for danger. What if the watchman is a sleepy watchman? A lazy watchman? Well, the enemy will attack suddenly and unexpectantly. If an enemy is spotted, the sirens will go off, and the camp will be sent into battle. A watchman climbs a tower and scans the area for any approaching enemies. You must protect your heart from every approaching or possible dangers.Ĭhristian, you are called to be a watchman over your own heart and soul. Look at the command in verse 23: “Keep your heart with all vigilance.” In other words, if you want to have a thriving Christian life, you must guard your heart carefully. In Proverbs 4:23, we see the intimate connection between guarding our heart and having a spiritually vibrant life. Similarly, if we neglect to care for our own spiritual garden, we will become weary, weeds will grow, and our spiritual vibrancy will be dim at best. After a few days, the plants will begin to wither and die off. Instead of watering the plants regularly, you just left them to survive on their own. Imagine if you planted a beautiful garden but failed to maintain it over time. If you want to thrive spiritually, you must guard your heart diligently. The heart is the command center of the Christian life. Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
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