The word heart is mentioned in 930 verses of the Bible.  We hear and use the word heart on a regular basis.  “I love you with all of my heart.”  “That makes my heart happy.”  “He broke my heart.”  You get the picture.

What does the word heart really mean though?  Of course, we have our literal heart in our body that serves as one of our major organs that pumps blood throughout, which totes oxygen to every other part of our body; without this oxygen, we would die.  But then there is the soul/spirit reference of the word heart that we use when we are hurt.

Proverbs 4:23  (NIV) says, “Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”  The New Living Translations says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

Just as our literal heart is the source that disperses “good or bad” blood throughout our entire being , our spiritual heart is the source that feeds every other place in our life, “good or bad”.  The Bible says to,  ABOVE ALL ELSE, guard your heart.  Our hearts will determine the course of our entire life.

What does that look like?

A broken heart = apathy, lack of motivation, and a “shut-down” attitude

A weary heart = lack of trust, tired of believing, a “give-up” attitude

A deflated heart = lack of courage, lack of confidence, an “I can’t” attitude

A bitter heart = negative, unforgiving, an “I won’t/can’t let-it go” attitude

A shattered heart  = pain that shocks and stuns,  emotionally frozen, an “I can’t go on” attitude

A strong heart = confident, healthy, an “I am fulfilled” attitude

God has mended my heart over and over again.  He always gives me His heart when I exchange my broken, bitter, or shattered heart for His.  Sometimes it takes me a while to give it to Him because I like to nurse my wounds and get others to also.  I know from experience that I can trust Him with my heart no matter what state it is in 100 percent of the time.  When no one else “gets-it”, He does!

Where is your heart today?

Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.”

Our loving Father can strengthen our broken, weary, deflated,  bitter, or shattered heart!  Our heart will determine the course of our life.  “Above all else, guard your heart!”  How do you and I guard our hearts?  To guard our heart is to guard our thoughts.  We can shift our thoughts to something positive.  We can refuse to keep dwelling on something.  We can replace our “nasty” thoughts with the Bible.  We can believe the best in people when we want to believe the worst.  We can just take one step, when we want to shut-down.  Sometimes we need to just stop thinking because we are tired and go to bed.  (Nothing fruitful comes out of an exhausted mind and body.)

Father, I ask that you be the strength of our hearts and our portion forever.  Strengthen my friends today and fill them with a fulfilled heart that can only come from you.