"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23
What does it mean to live the good life?
Is it good health, a life free of pain? Or is it the ability to provide protection and safety for yourself? Is it being well liked or well respected? Is it a peaceful life with nothing threatening your well-being? Is it a good life when your expectations are met? Is it as simple as good weather? What is good weather?
You see, all of these answers are based on our perception of what is good. What is pain to one person might not be to another and what is safety might be life-threatening to another.
One morning in prayer, I heard the Lord speak to me:
Your reality is based on your perception. Your perception comes from your innermost being.
The Passion Translation for Proverbs 4:23 reads..."So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the well-spring of life."
Your innermost being is your inner sanctuary, the heart of who you really are. It is where you "see" the world you live in.
The innermost being is the child within...before the layers of living in a fallen world created a barrier.
Let the little children come to Me...for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them." Matthew 19:14
The heart of a child is pure. They are free, curious, and creative.They are honest. They do not bury their feelings and pretend they have it all together. They live in the moment and not the past. They are never afraid to appear weak.
Why did we change?
Rejection reared its ugly head and we had to react: a barrier went up. Our eyes were filled with images and ads of what is ideal: an idol stood up in the innermost being.The "should' was spoken over us and unwanted labels were given to us: we stored them. Deceptions led us to meditate in the darkness: the alter in our heart held those deceptions.
Trust was broken and we kept the broken shards in our sanctuary.
Fears and trauma led us to lock up and throw away the key to our tender hearts, constricting the innermost being. Our perceptions were altered.
But Jesus.
"Believe in Me so that rivers of living water will burst from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like the scripture says..." Jesus, John 7:38 TPT
A mighty rush of the river of Light, Jesus Christ and His Anointing, burst through that secret place. It took down idols and broke open the barriers. We became true children of God by faith in Jesus the Anointed One (Galatians 3:26). When we embraced Him and took hold of His name we were able to return to the heart of a child!
He healed us and delivered us from the darkness.
And now, we guard that innermost being with ALL diligence. Keeping the pure heart of a child of God in this world is up to us.
How do we guard our heart like Proverbs 4:23 instructs us?
1. Forget the past.
Forget the past and fasten your heart to the future (Philippians 3:13). We cannot stop the waters that flow from our heart, but we can direct them. Those waters need to flow in one direction...forward.
Fasten the focus of your heart on the future.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
2. Forgive.
Shatter the jars labeled "offences" by specific people. Forgive by faith not feelings. Make a choice, say it, and leave it. Nothing stops the flow and infects those sweet life-waters like unforgiveness. When those waters are held back by not forgiving people, bitterness breeds in that stagnant water. Jesus commanded us to forgive all day long. Maintain the flow.
"Later Peter approached Jesus and said, 'How many times do I have to forgive my fellow believer who keeps offending me? Seven times?' Jesus answered, 'Not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven times!' " Matthew 18:21-22
3. Allow Revelation-Light In
Pursue revelations from God's Living Word-the bible. Allow those revelations to detect and uncover the "waywardness of your heart" (Psalm 19:12). The revelation of His Word will fill your heart with good, detoxing light. The light will shine on the waters of your innermost being causing them to shine. You cannot expect your heart to direct itself. It must have revelation light guiding it to flow in the right direction.
"O how I love and treasure the revelation of Your Word; throughout the day I fill my heart with light!" David, Psalm 119:97
4. Maintain Your River
If the rivers that flow through your innermost being shift and flow toward darkness, dam it up. Be aware of dark meditations. Here are some examples: "I am unloved. I am a failure. I am afraid." The darkest one is this: "I am wounded by God."
To stop the flow into darkness you will need to collect rocks to dam up the waters and change their direction. The rocks are salvation promises found in the Living Word.
What does God say about me?
Find them. Do the work.
Speak those promises, daily, and direct the waters that flow from your innermost being.
For here is what the Lord has spoken to me: "Because you have delighted in Me as my great lover, I will greatly protect you. I will set you in a high place, safe and secure before my face. I will answer your cry for help every time you pray, and you will find and feel My presence even in your time of pressure and trouble. I will be your glorious hero and give you a feast. You will be satisfied with a full life and with all that I do for you. For you will enjoy the fullness of My salvation!" Psalm 91:14-16 TPT
5. Direct Your Heart to Praise
Thanksgiving is a force. It is a movement that defies stagnation. When water doesn't move it becomes cloudy with debris and harbors unhealthy life. Your songs and declarations of praise with thanksgiving cause a blast of energy in your innermost being. It makes the water rush with life.
When you daily do these five things you will be guarding your innermost being and directing the life waters that flow into you from Jesus. You won't be thirsty for the things of this world. He will satisfy you with the good life. The goodness of God has been given to flow into you. Your job is to maintain the flow of those waters, and as a result...others will receive the flow. The flow looks like this: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, SELF-CONTROL.
"But if anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never thirst again and will forever be satisfied! (!)
For when you drink the water I give you it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, springing up and flooding you with endless life!" John 4:14 TPT
Let's pray together,
"Lord Jesus, I believe in you. You are my source of eternal life. You are pouring that life into me right now. It is a river of life flowing from your eternal throne room into my heart. I receive Your cleansing. I receive hope. I receive Your love. Your water heals me. Thank you.
I release any hinderance to this flow. I surrender it all. Help me maintain and guard this flow of spiritual water. Use me to water the dry places. Amen."