The Guarded Heart vs Guarding Our HeartsSample

GUARD YOUR HEART WITH THE POWER, PLAN, PROTECTION AND PURPOSE OF JESUS.

To end this reading plan, I want to share with you four verses written by Paul to the church in Philippians. These verses give us the right strategy for guarding our hearts so that life still flows from them.

Philippians 1:8 “God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.”

Our heart power is Jesus. We love with Jesus's tender compassion. He is our source for safeguarding our hearts from every broken, bickering, bruised, betraying, boundaryless, and burdened experience. We cannot do this in our strength.

Philippians 1:9 “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.”

Our heart plans to display the Authentic Love of Jesus to every broken, bickering, bruised, betrayed, boundaryless, and burdened part that may crash into our world. We need to understand that this broken world needs the authentic love of Jesus, not revenge.

Philippians 1:10 "For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.”

Our heart’s protection is recognising through wisdom what matters. Living with guarded, revenge-filled, bitter hearts produces nothing but more hurt. God has given us every redemptive tool for restoration, reconciliation, regeneration, and repentance—this is what matters. He knows we are broken, so he came to give us life and the resources for healing.

Philippians 1:11 “May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”

Our hearts' purpose is to reveal the good news of Jesus. WHY? so others may live. Guarding our hearts with Christ's power, plan, protection, and purpose will determine how we live as His disciples.

Once, when wrestling with the pain of a guarded heart, a mentor told me these words, which I would like to pass on to you as you journey through healing the guarded heart: "The greater our capacity to love, the greater our ability to feel pain. The more we look like Jesus and love like Him, the more pain accompanies this love. BECAUSE loving people the way we were re-created to love them will cost us our lives."

Madz has heaps of video courses, published books, podcasts, and reading plans all aimed at emotional and spiritual well-being. Check out her website for more info.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I surrender my guardedness to you today. I repent of trying to live in my own strength, and I invite you into every step of this journey of being your ambassador to a broken, hurting world that needs a Savior. I pray that your love fills my heart to overflowing that I need never be guarded again. Amen.