I must admit I've disastrously failed in "guarding my heart" throughout my twenty-six years. If I looked at my life in chapters, my high school and early college years would be booked under "Rebellion At It's Best." These years were a blur that would define confusion with capital "C."
I grew up in a Christian family. I was forced into going to church twice a week. I remember being in eighth grade. The church service was about to begin. A friend of mine (we'll call her Sally to protect her identity) and I, after leaving Sunday School, thought it would be a cool idea to skip church without our parents knowing. But, we couldn't just rebel and skip service! We needed to add a little more "bad-ness" to the equation. So, we not only skipped church. We walked a mile to the nearest grocery store, stole a case of beer (I still don't know how), walked back to church, and drank them in the church bathroom. It's almost as if one rebellion wasn't enough. It didn't satisfy us. We had to go all the way in order to suffice our desire to rebel.
Unfortunately, I carried this desire for rebellion throughout most of my life. If things weren't working out with my family, God, or relationships, I'd rebel. The tough part about that is the aftermath of it all.
Beneath all that rebellion, there lived a garden. A garden of peace, a love for God, a desire to do His will. When you rebel, you aren't just rebelling on the people in your life or God. You are rebelling against your heart. You are opening the door of your heart and allowing the enemy of your soul to slither into the garden. God would love for us, even begs us in Scripture, to keep that door closed tight. Not just closed, but guarded! Why? Because the enemy is sneaky. God knows all too well what happened in the first garden, Eden. He warned Adam and Eve to keep watch over it. Somehow, while they weren't looking, the enemy creeped in unannounced and it caused such destruction in their lives that it still plagues us today.
Keep the door shut. Guard your heart with vigilance (to maintain attention and alertness). And, if you've gotten off track and let the enemy into your garden, there's still hope! Sometimes we keep that door open so long that the enemy has almost covered that garden with "kudzu," choking off every living thing that God created inside of you. But, you have a Savior who has overcome this world and the enemy. He is an all-consuming fire! Give Him a chance. He will light that kudzu on fire and begin taking back what the enemy stole from you. Planting new trees, replenishing dried out rivers, restoring your soul.
It's possible for you to be healed. I was, and to this day, am still being healed. I've been through more experiences than you know. I've opened the door to the enemy more times than I can count. But, I've closed that door for the umpteenth time. The difference now is that I know to keep it guarded. You guard it by the Truth, by prayer, by accountable friends. Get into the Word. Learn about who God says you are now, as a new creation. And LIVE that way. He's still planting new seeds and pulling out weeds in my heart and it may be a life long process, but I'm so grateful that in the end, when it's my time to meet Jesus, I can go to Him with my garden cleaned, purified and ready to enjoy eternity!
Isaiah 58:11
The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
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