Proverbs 4:23
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

There seems to be little teaching on man’s responsibility to keep his heart right before God.

Proverbs 14:30
“A sound heart is the life of the flesh.”

If I do not know how to steward my heart and “keep it with all diligence” then I will suffer with distress, disappointment and disillusionment. When I meet adverse circumstances I have responsibility to keep my heart sound and encourage myself in God.

Our emotions are very real; they make good servants but bad masters! They serve us best when we allow them to act as a rudder to steer us to make a choice – the right choice. Colossians 3:15 instructs, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” It is far better to make decisions from a peace controlled heart than from a heart on an emotional “roller-coaster.” When my heart is being ruled by my emotions it is better not to make any rash decisions. Emotions can have a very loud voice, often of condemnation or fear. Fear is never of God and has it’s source in the devil’s lies – he is the father of all lies. The lie has to be nailed and exposed in order that I trade my believing of the devil’s lie for God’s truths. Only what God says is true! The devil is a liar.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

The heart of man is the seat of all responsibility where I can enjoy my walk with the Lord and be encouraged, or the opposite. God gave man freedom to choose, but His heart’s desire is that man should choose God and His ways.

Hebrews 3:10 Speaking of the children of Israel in their wilderness wanderings the Lord declared, “I was grieved with that generation…they do always err in their heart, and they have not known My ways.” The meaning of “to err” here is to be “out of the way” ….and in the wrong way! They did not enter in to the Promised Land because of unbelief, which produces a hard heart resulting in an inability to know God’s ways. If I find myself in this position I need to humble myself, repent of my ways and invite God into my mess. Religion will always say, “You fix it!”…but we cannot. God knows how to mend my heart and give it back to me to start again, so I get back on track. I can then learn and know His ways and learn to be a good steward of my heart….”Let the peace of God rule in your heart,”…..let us get rid of the garbage!

The cares of this world are great distractions to us to take our eyes off the Lord, but He encourages us to, “Cast all your care on Him, for He cares for you,” 1Peter 5:7. The distractions can trigger wrong emotions, but God is working with us to bring His soundness to an unsound position and heal my heart. God initiates the “fixing” for His glory. When God heals me, then I must learn to steward what He has made whole again.

David prayed, Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”