Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
God tells us to guard our hearts and our mouths. Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. In other words we need to put some fences up around them, to stop and think before we react, so the enemy can’t just walk right in and cause strife in our relationships or situations.
James 3:16 (KJV) For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. Scripture is very strong on keeping strife out at all cost and we can see why! When we see it raising its ugly head we need to nip it in the bud before it invites other nasties in with it! And if it has come in, be a peacemaker and pour oil on those troubled waters.😊
One of the things we need to be guarding our hearts against is offence. How easy it is to take offence at what someone did or said. We even justify ourselves by saying how wrong they were, and yes, they probably were, but it doesn’t give us any excuse for being in the wrong as well, by not forgiving them! But oh, it’s not easy is it? That’s when we so need the Holy Spirit and His grace to be at work in our hearts to let offences go before they take root and grow.
We have two lovely trees in our front garden which shed loads of seeds which grow into masses of little trees and if we don’t pull them out immediately it’s really hard to get them out! Offence can be like that, so don’t let it grow into a great big tree! We need to swallow our pride and be reconciled, and just let it go before it messes us up. We hurt ourselves by holding on to it!
So how are your fences? Maybe it’s time to put some new ones up? Not fences of hurt to hide behind, but fences that resist the enemy, fences of love and kindness, fences of long suffering, fences of patience and understanding, then those nasties won’t be able to come in, in the first place. Amen.
Enjoy a sunny, blessed weekend.😊x
Photo: Merritt Thomas on Unsplash
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