“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7, AMP)
Believe this? Do you believe we are ‘controlled’ by what’s in our hearts? Is the heart, not the head, the source and ‘director’ of our words and behaviors? If it’s the heart that leads… where and how? Hmmmm… think on this verse if you question or doubt the power of your heart.
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23-25, AMP).
It doesn’t say head. Surprised? However, it does say – heart. Plus it does say – who is in charge, responsible. WE are supposed to do the doing. We are supposed to watch over our heart. And then it tells us why:
“You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”
(Matthew 12:34, AMP)“Put away from you a deceitful (lying, misleading) mouth, And put devious lips far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead [toward the path of moral courage] And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you [toward the path of integrity].”
I believe that the end result of how we think in our heart is heard from our mouths… we start in the heart and our words are the expression. From another perspective… do your words confirm what you think? Do they originate in your heart? Are the words who you are? And if not… what does?
When God was establishing His covenant with His people… what is it He says?
“I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:25-26, AMP)
The verse in Ezekiel is not the first time God uttered these words, how the Covenant is. Throughout the Old Testament He was continually bringing His people back to Himself and repeating and renewing His Covenant by giving them a new heart and spirit.
Ponder the following:
“…For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks [a]at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, AMP)
“The heart of the wise instructs his mouth [in wisdom] And adds persuasiveness to his lips.” (Proverbs 16:23, AMP)
“I, the Lord, search and examine the mind, I test the heart, To give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:10, AMP)
Those are only 3 scriptures that indicate the value God places on our hearts. I could cite scripture after scripture indicating the role and importance of our hearts. How our hearts combine with our minds to demonstrate who we are and how we do us. It’s not just important, it’s the center, the focus. The real question is – do we appreciate the importance? And, how do we ‘feed’ our heart – strengthening and protecting it?
“Heart” (Hebrew lebab/leb [b’bel], Gk. kardia [kardiva]) occurs over one thousand times in the Bible, making it the most common anthropological term in the Scripture. It denotes a person’s center for both physical and emotional-intellectual-moral activities;… “
(https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/heart/)
