Proverbs 4:23 advises us to guard our hearts. It says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” When Paul writes to the Philippians, he tells them not to worry about anything but to commit all their problems to God in prayer and then trust Him for the results. If we do that, Paul goes on, “The peace of God will guard your heart…” Guarding the heart is of paramount importance. The heart is not the seat of emotions only, as it is in modern jargon. It’s the core of one’s very being, according to scripture. Carson writes, “If the heart is nothing other than the center of your entire personality, that is what must be preserved. If your religion is merely external, while your ‘heart’ is a seething mass of self-interest, what good is the religion? If your heart is ardently pursuing peripheral things (not necessarily prurient things), then from a Christian perspective, you soon come to be occupied with the merely peripheral. If what you dream of is possessing a certain thing, if what you pant for is a certain salary or reputation, that shapes your life. But if, above all else, you see it to be your duty to guard your heart, that resolve will translate itself into choices of what you read, how you pray, and what you linger over. It will prompt self-examination and confession, repentance, and faith, and will transform the rest of your life.”[1] Unfortunately, we still struggle with our flesh and can’t maintain that kind of vigilance.
Having spent many years in the military, I’m always excited about military phrases. The word “guard” is a military term that describes a Roman soldier holding his weapon, walking back and forth in front of an open gate so that no one could enter. It is an exhortation to vigilance. Shih Huang-ti, one-time emperor of China, claimed to have eighty thousand eyes. For along the Great Wall of China were forty thousand watchtowers, and every day and night, a sentinel was posted at each one of them to guard the safety of China. This is said to have been “the greatest example of vigilance ever known to the world.” This is wrong! The Prophet Isaiah tells us about the greatest vigilance known to the world. He writes, in Isaiah 40:28, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”
Although vigilance in the Christian life is crucial, it’s a vigilance that rests on God’s sovereignty. I get tired. I get weary. I will let my guard down. We are always susceptible to the weaknesses of the flesh. We cannot maintain a vigilant mindset 24/7. It’s not in the realm of possibility. It’s the watchfulness of Almighty God that I must put my trust in. He is ever vigilant over those who “trust in Him.” Psalmist affirms the reliability of God, our Shepherd. Psalm 121:3-4 says, “He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Then, in Psalm 127, we get even better news. The Psalmist tells us in Verses 1 and 2, “Without the help of the Lord, it is useless to build a home or to guard a city. It is useless to get up early and stay up late …God takes care of his own, even while they sleep.”
[1] Carson, D. A. 1998. For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.