When we first moved into this house, one of the things I was most excited about was having a yard with real grass – the green, barefoot-walking kind. With the big yard, came a decent-size garden at the one end. I saw through the overgrown weeds and strewn-about trash to the potential it held, not realizing at first that while I was going to work on the garden, the Lord was going to work on me.
Protection.
How do you guard a garden? Well, it depends on what you’re protecting it from. In my case it’s those small but pesky critters including our Yorkie puppy (pictured here) who loves to dig up bugs. So a small fence should do the trick. Now that the fence is up, however, I’ll need to continue to be on guard to see if anything else is getting through my defenses – bugs, birds, bigger pesky critters. Being on guard takes continued monitoring, alertness, and effort…Yeah, I know, this is just a garden we’re talking about, but as usual, the Lord is using it to teach me some important life lessons.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, Jesus compares our hearts to soil in a garden – conditions have to be right in order to receive God’s Word and reap its fruit in our lives. (Matthew 13) God’s Word also teaches us that we need to guard our hearts above all else.
“Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23, AMP) The NLT version says “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” These are some strong words about guarding our hearts – with all vigilance, above anything else that you guard.
Guarding our hearts means protecting it from tempting influences that can distract us from God - temptations which can quickly lead to sin, destroying the good fruit in our lives.
Being on guard also means recognizing where we are weak or vulnerable and amping up our defenses in that area especially. As I’m protecting my garden from puppies and rabbits, a small, chicken wire fence will work. When we lived on the mission base, Pastor Abram needed to protect his garden from horses, blesbok and wildebeest. His fence was a lot different than mine. This isn’t about the size of the fence; rather it’s about recognizing we need the right fence for the job.
I’m amazed, and convicted, at how much effort I put into guarding “stuff”. We have locks on our doors, gates for double protection, bars on our windows, a sophisticated security system, and a ferocious guard dog (also pictured here). Not to mention the mental and emotional energy I spend thinking about security, even worrying about it…
Do I guard my heart with the same effort and energy as I guard other things in my life? Do I guard my heart with all diligence, above all else that I guard?
Ashamed, the answer is no. I think I underestimate the power of the influences around me, thinking that they won’t affect me that much. But that’s the way the enemy works, deceiving us into thinking a behavior, risk, influence, or thought is no big deal until it’s too late.
So I’ve had to ask myself, where am I most vulnerable and therefore need to guard my heart? Where do I need to strengthen my defenses through time in God’s word? And where do I need the fellowship and accountability of others to keep me on track?
It’s critical to protect our hearts by keeping them focused on God, because our hearts determine the course of our lives.
Wow, the garden looks great! Now how do I keep it that way?
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