The Heart of the Matter

I have always been a proponent for guarding your heart. I have taught girls only break out sessions, I have done bible studies on my dorm hall, I have harped about it to my friends. Lately I have been getting on my own nerves reminding myself to do the same. I have had to fight to guard my heart, my thoughts, the course of my emotions. I find that my way of guarding my heart is living in denial of what is to some, very strong evidence of things. All I know is that Proverbs screams out "Guard your heart because it affects EVERYTHING you do!" Whether or not we guard our hearts, they still affect everything we do.
A more healthy way to guard your heart is probably not to live in perpetual denial to your emotions. Rather, we are instructed to do the following:

"Put away perversity from your mouth;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.

Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil."

These verses are found directly after Proverbs 4:23 which reads in the NIV "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

I guess in all of my denial, I have chosen to take "only ways that are firm" until I know differently. Another important aspect is to "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you." Keep your eyes on Jesus. Don't become distracted by the hectic schedule you must endure, the future that is fastly approaching without your plans to softly cushion its swift arrival, the way things have always been done or the things people have always said you need to have.

A wise man of God once told me "God's Word wouldn't say to guard your heart if someone wasn't trying to steal it." The enemy of our souls, satan himself, is all about bringing us down by hitting us in the most vulnerable spot. If he can get us to open ourselves up and give everything we have to offer, then he can get us to become resistant to trusting, resistant to loving and resistant to live. Our focus will no longer be on Jesus, but rather the hurt and suffering we are in. If you are at that place, it isn't too late! Jesus' love and grace has healed some of the deepest wounds that have ever been. When a crowd of hypocrites wanted to have an adulterous woman killed, Jesus made them aware of their sin and turned to her, forgiving her and telling her to sin no more. That's just ONE example of His grace and you can be another.
For those of you who are floating through life and relationships without regard for how it will affect your future, be certain that it will. Anytime the core of who you are (the heart of you) is involved in something, it will affect your whole life.
Ladies, guard your heart by not telling guys everything about you in the first five times they meet you. Allow them the opportunity to get to know you. If they are worth it, they will admire you for it, appreciate the challenge and rise to meet it. If they don't, you've weeded them out! ;)
I'm not a guy so I don't know how they let their guard down, but as a girl I can say ladies please also guard the hearts of the men in your life. Please do not play with their hearts, hurt them needlessly or do your part to awaken love or other desires before the right time (that's a completely different blog!).
The heart of the issue is this: Let the privileged few know the deepest parts of you-those are the people who seek you out persistently and truly care about you. And keep your eyes on Jesus. Never lose sight of Him-the One who made your heart and the one who will hold it for safe keeping, the One who longs to capture it.