Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by Joan Rono
(www.ellel.uk)
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23, NKJV
In my Maasai culture it’s the responsibility of the young boys in the family to take care of their father’s cattle. Being a culture where one’s wealth is measured by the number of cattle one has, the boys have a significant responsibility to ensure that the cattle are safe out in the pasture and back home.
A young Maasai boy I read about in an article struggled to keep his father’s cattle safe from attacks from lions. It was hard for him to stay up and watch the cattle. So he built a fire to keep the lions off, but despite this he realised the lions were still attacking the cattle. After a lot of thought he decided to create a device with ‘moving lights’ to fool the lions into thinking that someone was protecting the cattle. His invention is now being used a lot in his community, and he’s now travelling the world, inspiring people.
As I read this story, the Lord put in my heart the words in Proverbs 4:23, ‘Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it’. It’s important to realise that the enemy is moving around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Just like these lions lay waiting to attack the cattle, so is the enemy waiting to attack. We need to be wiser in this day and age. Wisdom comes from having the fear of God.
There’s a lot of pressure from the world to the Church, pushing the Church into a place of compromise. The pressure grows and grows, as the world seeks to lead the Church in its way and paths. I’m aware this is the agenda of our enemy. We shouldn’t be ignorant of the schemes of the enemy as a church, and as individuals.
It’s necessary to have the Word of God as ‘moving lights’ in our hearts. The Lord has given us His Word as a sword in our hands, so we can be on guard against the schemes of the enemy.
I believe it’s the time that we hold up the plumb-line of truth and refuse to bow to the pressure to conform to the patterns of the world. As we stand by the truth, and call what’s right, right, and what’s sin, sin, then we’re in a better position to be the kind of witnesses that God’s called us to be. A light set on a hill that can’t be hidden! His salt to the world!
Let’s learn to guard our hearts!
Prayer
Lord, please help me to learn how to guard my heart. May Your word be a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path. I refuse to compromise my faith for the ways of the world and ask for Your strength and grace, Amen.