Womanhood Series-Week 4: Ladies, Guard Your Hearts

So, I’m scrolling on social media (something I probably shouldn't have been doing in the first place), and I came across this blog. I'm never one to turn down a good read, so without even thinking, I clicked the link. What a mistake! This blog turned out to be one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve seen in a while. A young woman, who was once a believer wrote that she had renounced her faith in Christianity. What stood out the most to me was when she listed her reasons for doing so. As I read through most of her arguments, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of what she was saying. I felt it to my core. Immediately, I began to take on some of her skepticism and resentment. I could almost feel myself agreeing with what she had to say even though it was completely contrary to the word of God.

And just like that, the enemy rushed to the scene (like the opportunist that he is) and began planting seeds of doubt. How easy was it for me to begin questioning the very existence of God. In just 15 short minutes, I was sitting in front of a computer screen questioning my entire belief system! Questioning the existence of the God that I have proved over and over and over again! The God that I have seen at work in my life, and at work in the lives of millions of people all around the world!

I’m telling you this story because that one instance opened my eyes to something very important- the need to constantly guard our hearts. We know that the hearts are important, but yet, we still leave them open- unguarded and at risk for anyone and anything to come in and take over. We spend hours scrolling online, hours listening to negative people and years in toxic relationships thinking “it's no big deal” when in reality, it’s all adding up to our destruction. We open our hearts to men that we know aren’t good for us. We open our hearts to friends that we know aren’t good for us and we punish ourselves for hours scrolling on social media, knowing that we struggle with comparison.

In my case, I merely wanted to see why this young woman had chosen to leave the faith. However, the more I read, the easier it was for those very same seeds of doubt to be planted in my own heart. Her reality almost became mine. How many tv shows or movies have you watched walking away feeling “some type of way”? How many songs have you listened to that has gotten you “in your feelings”?

Ladies, I urge you --- guard your hearts.

Proverbs 4:23 warns us “Above all else, guard your heart, for EVERYTHING you do flows from it.”That means that whatever we allow into our hearts will eventually flow out of us. These things eventually become us! I can’t stress this enough. I allowed skepticism and doubt and so many other things into my heart, not just in that one instance but over the course of many years. It’s so crucial in this day and age that we guard our hearts. We must protect our faith in God. We must protect our purity. We must protect our peace of mind. We can’t be lazy or nonchalant about this.

1 Peter 5:8 tells us: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Did you read that? The enemy is literally looking for someone to devour. That is his full time job. I truly believe that the reason he is so successful in doing this is because we haven’t grasped the importance of guarding our hearts. And, those that do grasp the importance of it, still fail to do it.

Learn from my mistake tonight, ladies. Don’t knowingly expose yourself to things that can potentially destroy your faith. We must draw a line. We must take responsibility of our own lives. In becoming the women that we desire to be, guarding our hearts is extremely important.

(Refer to Week # 4 worksheet for a deeper study on this topic. )