Matthew 15:19amp For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming).

You might be thinking “I only say negative things about really bad stuff” or “I don’t have strife in any of my relationships except this one” or any number of other ‘compartmentalizing’ the thoughts of your heart.  But did you know your heart is not compartmentalized?

I learned this lesson some time ago when I was having difficulties with one of our children.  I was getting frustrated with his attitude and in that moment the Lord gave me an image of a measuring stick that measured my confidence in Him.  On one end was full confidence in God and on the other end was a "0"!

And because I didn’t understand this about my heart, this was a complete revelation to me! What does frustration, anxiety, worry, strife, etc. in one area of my life have to do with anything else, including my confidence in God?

It contaminates your heart!  I’m not saying you can’t have confidence in God in one area and not struggle in another but any of that stuff mentioned above, will contaminate your heart and lower your ability to trust God.

In that image He gave me, He showed me that as I let that situation grow more intensely in my heart, the amount of my confidence in Him (trust, faith) began to lower.  It isn’t the outside force you’re dealing with that matters; it’s what is going on in your heart.  I’ve seen people so angry at their car that it just ate them up inside.  Your heart doesn’t divide or discriminate the issues of life for you.  You must decide what you’re going to let into it.  You can put good things into your heart, even the Word of God.  But at the same time, you can also let the cares of life, strife and worry in.  And if you do, it will choke the good. It will choke faith and your confidence in God!

It’s the same heart! Jesus talks about this in the Parable of the Sower in the book of Mark.  He compares the conditions of our heart.

Mark 4:7 “And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.”

He explains it in Mark 4:18-19, “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

Proverbs 4:23NLT Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

The Apostle Paul says this in Philippians 4:8NLT And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

When you understand how your heart works and the part it plays in being able to live by faith (Hebrews 10:38) it will change your life for the better!  When you begin to protect your heart, and fill it with only godly thoughts, your faith will explode and will be like the heart in the Parable of the Sower that receives the harvest of the promises of God!

Mark 4:8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!

Mark 4:20 And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!

God is so worthy of our trust and we can live free from our hearts being influenced by the circumstances around us. We can live with peace in our heart; having faith that God has given us the ability to overcome.  But it will only be possible with a life surrendered enough to protect our hearts at all cost!  Don’t let the devil rent space in your mind!  Amen