Come Follow Me Day 31
Day 31 “Guard Duty”
Devotional:
The story is told of a young soldier who had been placed on guard duty at a military post. He was on sentry duty at the main gate of a military outpost. His orders were clear: No car was to enter unless it had a special sticker on the windshield. A big Army car came up to the gate with a general seated in the back seat and a young driver seated in the front.
The sentry said, "Halt, who goes there?” The chauffeur, a corporal, said, "General Wheeler, let us pass." The young guard replied, "Sorry, I can't let you through. You've got to have a sticker on the windshield and you don't have it." The general said to the young driver, "Drive on, son, pay this man no attention.”
The sentry said, "Hold it. You really can't come through. I have orders to shoot anyone and everyone who tries to enter this base without the proper sticker on the windshield.” The general repeated to the driver, "I'm telling you, son, drive on." The sentry walked up to the rear window, laid the rifle barrel on the door, pointed his rifle in the car at the general and asked, "General, I'm new at this: who do I shoot first, you or the driver?”
That’s a soldier who took guard duty seriously! How about us, do we take “guard duty” seriously? Solomon, in Proverbs 4:23 said, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” There is nothing more important than to guard our hearts. Why is that? Well, I think this quote by Andy Stanley helps answer that…
“Our heart seeps into every conversation. It dictates every relationship. We live, parent, lead, relate, romance, confront, react, respond, instruct, manage, problem solve, and love from the heart. Every arena of life intersects with what's going on in our hearts. Everything passes through on its way to wherever .”
That makes it pretty clear why we need to guard our hearts. Life flows out of the heart. Jesus was frustrated by the religious leaders because they looked impressive on the outside but in reality their hearts were far from God. As Jesus put it, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
We can go through all the religious checklists, but that doesn’t guarantee that our hearts are going to be pure and right before God. Things can get in and corrupt. That’s why we have to guard what we allow into the heart. That involves the things we watch and listen to. It’s also being proactive and fill our heart with God’s Word. How serious have you been in guarding your heart?
Prayer:
Take time and make a list of ways to better guard your heart. Go ahead and pray that God will help you make it a prioritize in your life.