Guard Your Heart

Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.

Sobriety is much more than the absence of drugs and alcohol.
It is so much more than simply not using.
It is a lifestyle that begins and ends with a change of heart.
When I say "heart", I'm not referring to that muscle in your chest that is pumping blood.....
I'm talking about the very core of your being...the center of who you truly are.
It's like this...
On Valentines Day when you go to Wal-mart and buy that big box of chocolates for your sweetie, and drive to her house so you can tell her that you love her with all your heart....
You're not referring to that bloody muscle are you? Nope.
You're telling her that you love her from the very core of your being.
That place where the will, intellect, emotions, and yes......even that old sin-nature resides.
That place where the real you exists. Your heart.

Real sobriety is found in our Higher Power Jesus.
Real sobriety flourishes when the heart is changed by our Higher Power, Jesus.
The verse above from Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts.
That means that we live in rigorous honesty.
We do not allow any secrets to come into our lives.
The secrets that we keep, are the seed beds for our addiction to flourish and grow.
Guard your hearts.
How do I do that?
Well, it comes as we begin to walk out this new relationship with Jesus.
Guarding our hearts begins with the awareness of our thoughts and emotions.
The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6 to "Not be anxious about anything" but to pray about everything. If we start to learn how to live in this way, notice what Paul says in verse 7 -- "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will GUARD your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Recognize that if you start to feel anxious, that is a signal that you need to turn your heart toward Jesus. For me personally, I like to put on some worship music when I feel anxious. If I'm in a place where I don't have access to any music, then I try to remember verses and repeat them over and over. That is why it is a good thing to memorize a verse each week so that you will be able to fight this fight.
Praying is a major weapon in this "heart" battle. Prayers that are really honest about what you are feeling and thinking, to me, are the best ones.

The Holy Spirit who lives in every believer, will become the sentry to our hearts and minds alerting us to the fact that we may be headed for some trouble when we allow certain thoughts to take root.
Is it a sin to have a thought about using?
No.
But allowing that thought to roll around in our hearts will grow and turn into to sin if we don't cut it off.
Truth is, you can't stop a thought from coming to your mind....
But you don't have to allow it room to grow. Allow God's Holy Spirit to cut it off before it can produce its deadly fruit in your life.
Guard your hearts.
Good stuff to live by today....

God on you....
mb