"How did I get here?" This is the question many of us ask ourselves when facing the consequences of our sins. We begin racking our brains to understand what happened to cause us to give into sins we never intended to commit. While this question often circles in our minds as we stare at our sin face-to-face, we know that our temptations come from within. James 1:14 tells us that our sins come "from our own desires." Because of this, if we want to avoid temptation, we have to start from within. We have to start by looking at ourselves.
The writer of Proverbs 4 teaches us how we can fight against temptation and sin, beginning with us. He writes, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of life" (verse 23). The purpose of guarding is to protect someone by keeping anything dangerous away. Guarding our hearts means protecting them from the things of this world that tempt us and lead us toward sin. We also guard our hearts to protect ourselves against anything that keeps us from following and obeying Christ. We do this by carefully monitoring the people and the things we allow to influence us. After all, even seemingly good things can keep us from being focused on our relationship with Christ and honoring Him in everything we say and do. Instead of surrounding ourselves with things that distract us from Christ, guarding our hearts calls us to watch, listen to, and read things that point us to Christ and spend time with people who encourage us to grow in our relationships with Him. As we guard our hearts, we can successfully fight against temptation because we will not be easily distracted and led astray by the things of this world.
We must take this call to guard our hearts seriously if we want to fight temptation successfully. When it comes to guarding your heart, how are you doing? Are you carefully monitoring your heart and what you let in? Are you guarding against things that distract you from your desires to obey and follow Jesus? There is a war going on for our hearts. It is time for us to fight for our hearts. After all, it "determines the course of your life."
Take some time to evaluate how you have been guarding your heart. Is there anything you have let in your life that has influenced you negatively or distracted you from God? Are there any people who constantly tempt you to live in a way that dishonors God or keeps you from taking your relationship with God seriously? Take note of what is going well. Where is there room for improvement? Name one step to better guard your heart that you can implement beginning today, and start taking that step now. The way we guard our hearts will impact all areas of our lives, so we must take God's command in Scripture to guard our hearts seriously.
"This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the "twelve tribes"-Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, "God is tempting me." God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16 So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession."
