A healthy fear

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." (Proverbs 4:23 NIV) 

friend, I'm sure you've heard this verse so many times and it's definitely one you should hear at least once a day too!

Have you ever wondered, especially with this verse that is so familiar and so important, what it means to guard your heart? A logical explanation would be that it means to take care of our heart, to pay attention to what might affect it, similar to the way you would look after a child in your care. But there is a much stronger explanation.

For example, how do you show respect for someone you admire? You think of them highly, you appreciate who they are and/or what they do, you show them deference. At the same time, you may be a bit afraid of doing something that might offend them.

Do you see what I'm getting at, friend? It's a thought you have to meditate on, because it's not the usual course. Instead, it's one that will protect you in the long run.

Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings, have respect for your thoughts and feelings. Have that quiet, healthy fear that alerts you at all times to thoughts of… "What's going on in my mind may not be the truth!"

Or, "My feelings right now are telling me I'll never be happy and my life doesn't make sense, but I'm paying attention to what's going on inside me. I have respect—healthy fear—for my thoughts and feelings, so I immediately counter doubt with God's truth."

The truth God shows you frees you from all the feelings and thoughts of your insecurities!

You are a miracle!