Lauren Appolis
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23, NIV
Our actions reflect what lives in our hearts. That is why it matters so deeply what we allow to enter – and what we permit to take root within us.
Often, our hearts reveal themselves quietly. Not in grand moments, but through patterns in our responses, our habits, our words. If we are willing to pay attention, they will tell us exactly what they have been holding.
What is our first response when a difficult situation arises? Are we easily irritated, steeped in a negative attitude that spills out through our words? “My job is so frustrating. These people are so toxic. I am so unhappy. I wish I didn’t have to be here.”
Perhaps, friend, this is an invitation to guard our hearts against ingratitude – and instead choose praise for the provision God has given us.
When someone hurts or offends us, do we instinctively want to return the pain so that they may feel what we felt? Are we quick to hold grudges, or to cut people off entirely? It may be that we have not guarded our hearts against unforgiveness and have not yet chosen – again and again – to extend the same grace God has so freely given us.
And when we face a mountain that feels immovable, a problem with no clear solution, what rises first within us? Faith or fear? Do we declare the power of God over the situation, choosing to walk by faith and not by sight? Or have we allowed unbelief to quietly take residence, shrinking God down to the size of our circumstance?
Scripture urges us to take every thought captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5) It would serve us well, then, to take inventory of our immediate responses to life and to people – they offer insight into the condition of our hearts.
Whatever we do, may it reflect a heart that has been carefully guarded against the ways of this world, and intentionally filled with the goodness of God.
Prayer: Lord, I surrender my heart to you. Make your home within me, so that everything I say and do reflects a heart aligned with your truth and your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lauren Appolis
Wees veral versigtig met wat in jou hart omgaan, want dit bepaal jou hele lewe. Spreuke 4:23, 1983-vertaling
Ons aksies reflekteer wat in ons harte aangaan. Daarom is dit so belangrik wat ons daar toelaat – en laat wortelskiet.
Dikwels word die inhoud van ons harte stilweg geopenbaar. Nie in groot oomblikke nie, maar deur ons reaksies, ons gewoontes, ons woorde. As ons bereid is om aandag te skenk, sal ons baie leer oor wat in ons hart omgaan.
Wat is ons eerste reaksie wanneer 'n moeilike situasie opduik? Is ons onmiddellik geïrriteerd, met 'n negatiewe houding wat in ons woorde oorspoel? "My werk is so frustrerend. Daardie mense is regtig toksies. Ek is so ongelukkig. Ek wens ek hoef nie hier te wees nie."
Liewe vriend, miskien is hierdie 'n uitnodiging om jou hart teen ondankbaarheid te bewaak, en eerder te kies om God te prys vir dit wat Hy aan jou gee.
Wanneer iemand ons seermaak of te na kom, wil ons instinktief hulle ook seermaak sodat hulle kan voel wat ons gevoel het? Is ons vinnig om 'n wrok te koester, of mense heeltemal te ignoreer? Dit mag wees dat ons nie ons harte teen onvergifnis bewaak het nie en nog nie – weer en weer – gekies het om dieselfde genade te bewys wat God so vrylik aan ons gee nie.
En wanneer ons 'n probleem wat soos 'n berg voor ons lê moet oorkom, 'n probleem met geen duidelike oplossing nie, wat kom eerste by ons op? Geloof of angs? Verklaar ons die mag van God oor die situasie, kies ons om die situasie in geloof te hanteer? Of laat ons ongeloof toe om stilweg in te trek en God tot die grootte van ons omstandighede te verklein?
Die Bybel dring by ons aan om elke gedagte gevange te neem. (2 Korintiërs 5:10) Dit sal ons dus goed doen om bestek te neem van ons onmiddellike reaksies op mense en die lewe – dit bied insig op die toestand van ons harte.
Wat ons ookal doen, mag dit 'n hart weerspieël wat versigtig teen die weë van die wêreld bewaar en doelbewus met die goedheid van God gevul word.
Gebed: Here, ek gee my hart oor aan U. Woon in my sodat alles wat ek sê sal getuig van 'n hart wat u waarheid en heerlikheid weerspieël. In Jesus se Naam, Amen.