by Helen Jesze – 19th July 2024
“Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart, that I may not sin against You.” Psalm 119:11 AMP
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” Psalm 119:9 ESV
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well-spring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV
“Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.”Prov. 2:11 NIV
Probably due to the sudden warm weather, this week I had an infestation of black ants and flying ants in my living-room. They were also running in and out the open window and on the wall outside. I fetched a chemical spray and began to douse the wee beasties, but some jumped up again after the initial shock. I noticed there were some cracks in the mortar and brickwork and sprayed that well, too. But when I went into the living-room again, even with the window closed they continued to crawl through. Some were running up and down the walls, and some were enjoying themselves running up the curtains! Then I noticed there was a hair-line crack at the end of the window-sill.
I bought a special ant-spray and that was much better than the normal chemical spray, but I knew this was only a temporary reprieve. I also bought mortar and Polyfilla and a young man who is doing some odd jobs for me at the moment, did an excellent job of filling up the cracks in the brickwork and round the window-sill in the living-room. We also discovered that the ants had bored through brickwork in another place, so this was also dealt with. But it was obvious that the cracks had brought about this problem.
This incident made me think of the Bible verses written above, where we are told to guard our hearts, and not allow any place where sin or spiritual problems can take root in our hearts or minds. We are told here to use the Word of God to strengthen and guard us. A Christian life where we take no time, or very little, to spend reading the Bible and acting upon its commands, or where we pray haphazardly and not daily, is bound to bring ‘cracks’ in our spiritual house, sooner or later. The Word should be hid and treasured in our hearts, for that will act as an armour against sin.
Sometimes we forget we have an enemy, Satan, who is always seeking to find a way in, just like those ants. He looks for cracks in our spiritual armour, and like a roaring lion, seeks those whom he may devour. One of his tactics is to keep a look out for a temptation or addiction we might have had before we were saved, and to bring that to our notice again, so we might fall in that particular place. Years ago, a young man called Hans-Peter, who had been a Heroin addict, had now got saved. He stopped using Heroin but he often visited his old friends and watched them shooting up and sniffing Cocaine. George said to him, “Hans-Peter, you are putting yourself in a dangerous position. You should keep right away from those old friends and that atmosphere, or one day you might be doing that again!” But unfortunately, Hans-Peter did not listen, and he never got completely free from addiction. The ‘ants’ were coming through the ‘cracks’.
Once George preached on a Sunday morning in a church in Switzerland, and afterwards, an elderly couple kindly took us out for lunch in a restaurant. The man asked us what we wanted to drink and we asked for orange juice. He ordered a big bottle of wine and kept trying to make us drink some. He said he had been an alcoholic, but now he drank just moderately to show he had been delivered! We thought that a very unwise thing to do, but he was determined. He drank glass after glass, and soon his voice got louder until he was shouting and disturbing the other guests.
It got so bad that in the end, the manager came and ordered him to leave the restaurant! He had allowed ‘cracks’ in his spiritual armour and the enemy was able to shoot at him. “Discretion” could have kept him and “understanding” would have guarded him, as our verse above says, if he had not trusted in his own ability and made this unwise decision. We have Christian friends who drink alcohol moderately, but after seeing how much need and terrible situations have been brought into people’s lives (even those of Christians) through this ‘crack’, we made the decision to not drink any alcohol. In the first place, each of us is answerable to God.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we ask today that you will show us any ‘cracks’ we may have in our hearts, which we have not noticed. Help us to guard our hearts; give us wisdom and discretion in all the affairs of Life, that no enemies can wound or destroy us. We ask that you will mend those broken places, that Satan will not be able to come in. Cleanse us with the blood of your Son, and make us strong in those areas which have been weak. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Freepik
Close up the cracks and guard your Heart!