"Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life! The enemy has been trying to sow seeds of discouragement, disorientation, and condemnation to many of My people recently. But fear not! Look to Me and I will help you! My Spirit is with you! Choose to keep your heart right before Me no matter what. Hear Me and follow Me, and I will bring you through!"
By the way, 'to disorientate' means 'to cause (somebody) to lose all sense of direction, or to cause confusion'.
In New King James Version (NKJV), Proverbs 4:23 says, 'Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life', and in New International Version (NIV), this verse reads, 'Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life'.
As a matter of fact, everything that happens in and around you depends on what's in your heart. If your heart is 'right', everything will start to fall into place, but when your heart is 'departed', everything will also fall apart! You can see the same happening in the lives of the different kings in Judah and Israel!
The word 'keep' or 'guard' here in Proverbs 4:23 is 'natsar' in Hebrew, which can mean 'to protect, to maintain'. How about the word 'heart' here? It is 'leb' in Hebrew, literally meaning 'the center of everything'. According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, it not only speaks of your spirit, but also your soul (i.e. mind, will, and emotions).
People of God, before you see breakthrough or new things coming your way, the enemy will (more likely than not) try to stop it by sowing seeds of discouragement, disorientation, or condemnation in you. He will want to keep you small. He will want to keep you miserable. He will want to keep you thinking you are good for nothing. He will want to keep you believing that the Lord will never forgive you for the past mistakes you've made in life. But these are all lies! And this is when you choose to guard your heart above all else, and in turn guard your mouth!
In Matthew 12:34-37, Jesus Himself said, "...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
In cross-reference, Proverbs 18:21 says, 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit'. Notice also Proverbs 4:23 (about 'guarding your heart') leads to Proverbs 4:24 that says, 'Put away from you a deceitful (devious) mouth, and put perverse lips far from you'. You see? What's in your heart will eventually flow out in your words! And what you say (in your words) will in turn determine what you will be!
Today, I want to point you to the importance of guarding your heart by learning from Jehoshaphat's mother and of course, Jehoshaphat himself. Not the usual teaching about his great victory against the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir (2 Chronicles 20:1-30), but let's look at other aspects that are rarely taught.
Jehoshaphat's mother, Azubah:
2 Chronicles 20:31-32 says, 'So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord'.
There's no accident why a name is mentioned in the Bible. Everything in the Bible was written for a reason. And here, Jehoshaphat's mother, Azubah was mentioned right in between the lines of Jehoshaphat's reign as king and how he did right in the sight of the Lord! This goes to show her influence as a mother, and the important role she played in Jehoshaphat's life! Otherwise the Bible would not even mention her name if she's not worthy of note!
But rather interestingly, this name 'Azubah' in Hebrew actually means 'desolate, forsaken', and it can even mean 'deserted, ruined, miserable, lonely, sad, hopeless'. By the meaning of her name, she seemed like a neglected person, and probably even forsaken by others, even though her father's name 'Shilhi' (meaning 'weapon, armor') sounded great!
A lesson one can learn here is whatever your current situation (or 'desolation') may be at the moment, keep your heart right and guard your heart, and you too will begin to see 'fruit' in your life! You see, Azubah's fruit was Jehoshaphat, the great king who brought great victory to Judah! Praise the Lord!
Jehoshaphat's mistake and shipwreck:
2 Chronicles 20:35-37 says, 'After this (Jehoshaphat's great victory), Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly. And he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made ships in Ezion Geber. But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works." Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish'.
The word 'allied' here can mean 'join (together), couple (together), have fellowship (close friendship) with, associate with, align with'. Here, the Bible says because Jehoshaphat allied himself with Ahaziah who acted very wickedly, the Lord destroyed his work!
In studying those who have gone before us, it is important to learn not just from their victories and acclaims, but also to learn from their mistakes. And here is a classic case of learning to guard your heart and be careful who you choose to align with (associate with). If the Lord gives the 'go ahead', you go ahead. But if the Lord gives a 'check' in your heart, or even warnings (through dreams, etc), better heed Him. You will be spared some heartaches!
A lesson one can learn here is to guard against aligning (associating) with the wrong people who may intentionally or unintentionally bring you down. Temptation (or the lure of this world) is also everywhere (whether it's lust, greed, or pride), and many have fallen into it. But fear not! The Lord has promised that His Spirit is with you!
The importance of praying in the spirit:
Some people say the key to guarding one's heart is by self-discipline (i.e. 'the ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses'). Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with exercising self-discipline, but self-discipline alone can only take you so far. One day, sooner or later, you'll find yourself so tired and exhausted of having to keep guard by your own self-effort! You need the Holy Spirit! Many people do not know that to guard one's heart in God's way is to pray in the spirit often! And it's as easy as flowing in a river!
When you pray in the spirit:
- it is your spirit that prays (1 Corinthians 14:14)
- you are speaking to God (1 Corinthians 14:2)
- your spirit is activated (1 Corinthians 14:14)
- your spirit is encouraged and edified (1 Corinthians 14:4)
- your spirit is built up on your most holy faith (Jude 1:20)
- you are praying the perfect will of God (Romans 8:27)
- it is part of your weapon against the enemy (Ephesians 6:18)
- it helps you to go deeper in your spiritual life (Romans 8:26)
- it helps you in your weaknesses (Romans 8:26)
- you find spiritual rest and refresh (Isaiah 28:11-12)
Praying in the spirit leads you into a higher realm, a supernatural realm, high and above every human (worldly) reasoning and rationalizing. You will rise above the worldly atmosphere and begin seeing things from the Lord's point of view. After all, Christianity is supernatural! You can see this all over the Bible! And when you pray in the spirit, rivers of living water (i.e. the Holy Spirit) will begin flowing in and through you! (see John 7:37-39)
It is the Holy Spirit that:
It is the Holy Spirit that:
- gives you the divine encouragement
- leads you and guides you
- pushes open the 'doors' for you
- clears every hindrance that you face
- releases supernatural joy unto you
- releases shalom peace unto you
- brings perspective back into your life
A time to rise above like the eagles!
The whole world is in the midst of unprecedented levels of politicking and mind-battles at the moment. People are 'attacking others' and 'defending themselves' like never before! Everyone's trying to save their own neck! But people of God, this is when you choose to rise above all these worldly (fleshly) atmospheres created by men and pray in the spirit all the more! That's how you will be like the eagles soaring high and above every 'storm' in this world!
And when you seem to make lots of mistakes in life lately, or your mind begins to fear men (and seek to please men) more than God, start praying in the spirit and keep on praying in the spirit! Get 'connected' with the Holy Spirit again! You'll be sure to gain back perspective of what the Lord wants you to see, instead of what the world wants you to see! To put it simply, you'll begin to make the right decisions in life again! Why? Because the Holy Spirit is all-knowing, and He will always lead you into all truth!
And when you seem to make lots of mistakes in life lately, or your mind begins to fear men (and seek to please men) more than God, start praying in the spirit and keep on praying in the spirit! Get 'connected' with the Holy Spirit again! You'll be sure to gain back perspective of what the Lord wants you to see, instead of what the world wants you to see! To put it simply, you'll begin to make the right decisions in life again! Why? Because the Holy Spirit is all-knowing, and He will always lead you into all truth!
Last but not least, remember, when you pray in the spirit, it is your spirit that prays. And when your spirit is activated and strong, it will dominate your whole being (in and around you). You will not succumb under the worldly influence, or cave in to worldly pressures so easily. The apostle Paul had this revelation of the power of praying in the spirit (i.e. praying in tongues), and he even wrote that he prayed in the spirit more than others (1 Corinthians 14:18). No wonder the Lord entrusted him to author half of the entire twenty-seven books in the New Testament!
