Jeremiah 4
I have been thinking a whole lot about the heart this week! We all recognize the benefit of a physically healthy heart, but we aren’t always so quick to recognize the significance of a spiritually healthy heart.
The condition of the heart, the innermost part of a person, profoundly affects the quality of life the person will experience. Ezekiel tells us that God can take our stony, unresponsive heart and make it into a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26-27) Isn’t this such great news? And in Ephesians, we read that the heart is where Jesus resides in the believer’s life. (3:17) We also know from Scripture that the heart can be broken. In fact, we are told that Jehovah Rapha is the God who heals broken-hearts. He heals all kinds of broken hearts- the kind that tick and the kind that experience hurt. But Soloman gave us one of the most profound Scriptures about the heart when he said the heart needs guarding. You see, it is fragile, easily twisted, and can be easily led astray.
The wisest man that ever lived understood the importance of guarding the heart. Isn’t this why Solomon wrote in Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart.” Solomon understood the diligence and focus it would take to keep the heart guarded, and he also understood that the result of a well guarded heart would be flowing springs of life. Of course, the opposite applies here as well. When we don’t guard our hearts, we tend to lean towards emotions that destroy, like anger, unforgiveness, hatred, and despair… When we don’t guard our hearts, it is like giving ground away to things that are addictive and bring despair. God’s truth is so, so practical for life! Why don’t we listen???
Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23
The men and women of Judah did not guard their hearts. They gave their hearts to idols that had no power, no ability, and no life. And with that idol worship, their hearts were drawn toward more and more sin. Their hearts became hard and cold.
As I read through Jeremiah 4 recently in the New Living Translation, I was struck by the number of times the heart is mentioned. I counted eight times throughout chapter four! Verses 3,4,8,14,18, and 3 times in verse 19. If you have a minute today- open your Bible (NLT) to Jeremiah 4 and count the word HEART for yourself. You might even draw a little heart around each time HEART is mentioned. The first five times the word heart is used, it is said to warn God’s people. Plow up your hard heart! Change your heart! Weep with your heart! Cleanse your heart! And then the stern warning from God, your actions have brought all this on you, and the bitter punishment will pierce your heart! In other words, get it together, Judah! And if you don’t, it isn’t going to go well for you!
What we know is Judah didn’t pay attention, and it didn’t go well for them. Jeremiah, our weeping and depressed prophet, did what he had become good at; he wept for Judah. Three more times the heart is mentioned-Jeremiah’s heart. We are told his heart writhed in pain and pounded within him. He struggled to find rest. Captivity for Judah was coming like a speeding freight train. Weeping Jeremiah saw it coming and did all he could to warn the people- but to no avail.
Here is what we can know for sure. God designed us with a heart. That heart is the innermost part of us and needs to be guarded. That means we must intentionally let in the good but keep out the destructive and harmful things. We need to keep the throne of our hearts for Jesus. Jesus, the one who is the fountain of living water, needs to be front and center in our hearts and in our lives. With abundant guarding comes soft, teachable hearts, hearts that serve others, hearts that lean on Jesus daily, hearts that are healthy and think well, and hearts that are full of hope and have eternity in view. What we do with our hearts determines where we are headed. So today, let’s remember the wise words of Solomon, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life.”
Anne Farnum 