Protect Your Heart

“Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness” – Ephesians 6:14

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”. – Proverbs 4:23

Cardiology, as a branch of medicine, ranks as one of the most important areas of study. Life as we know and enjoy it depends prominently on the ability of the heart to pump life-giving blood throughout the body. Non-stop for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year it functions to ensure life is available to cells, tissues, and organs that need it.

We advocate exercise to keep the heart muscle physically fit. We advise healthy eating and balanced diets to ensure it circulates vital nutrients, electrolytes, and vitamins throughout the body. We recommend regular check-ups to ensure conditions like high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, or arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) aren’t present.

So much focus is placed on this organ because…well…you only get one. That makes it valuable. And once it stops, you stop. That makes it vital. Furthermore, what flows out of the heart effects every other area of your body. That makes its function…ahem…viral. Junk in, junk circulated. Nutrition in, nutrients circulated. Solomon in the scripture referenced above in Proverbs 4:23 highlights this point, saying, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Physical references in the Bible have spiritual applications. Over 800 mentions of the heart are made in the Bible.

• We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30)

• We are to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not depend on our own limited understanding (Proverbs 3:5)

• We are instructed to hide God’s word in our hearts to prevent sinning against Him (Psalm 119:11)

• Our hearts, we’re told, follow our treasure (Luke 12:34)

• What comes out of a man’s heart is what defiles him (Matthew 15:16-20)

• God looks at the heart to evaluate a person, not on their outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7)

• Salvation from sin is granted when we believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 10:9)

So, it’s no wonder Paul in Ephesians highlights the value of the heart by instructing us to put on a specific piece of armor to protect it. What he calls the breastplate of righteousness.

You’ve seen pictures of Roman soldiers in their battle attire. They don fitted armor strategically covering their torso, the area that houses their vital organs. They realized in advance that their opposition would use any means available to inflict maximum harm and ultimate death to them. Their attire reflected their anticipation of a hurled javelin, a sharpened spear, or a wielded sword in attempts to pierce a lung or injure a heart. They recognized that to prevent such catastrophe, an impenetrable covering needed to be utilized.

The breastplate of righteousness seeks to do the same job in our spiritual battles today. Notice, righteousness is the prescribed protector of the heart. Righteousness is the standard God requires for us to be acceptable to Him. But it’s obvious that we are flawed. We sin. We make mistakes. We choose unwise paths. We desire unfruitful things. So how can an unrighteousness person ever put on a righteousness they could never attain, since God’s standard of righteousness is perfection? One sin disqualifies us from that standard.

That’s why one of my favorite scriptures is 2 Corinthians 5:21. “He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Upon accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives, two distinct things happen all at once.

• Despite being perfect, Jesus died on our behalf, in our place, for our sins to satisfy God’s penalty for sin (death). Our sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven. They were all credited onto Jesus on the cross. That saves us for heaven.

• But the bonus in vs 21 is that we also get the perfect righteousness of Christ credited to us for victorious living in history. The righteous standard that Jesus lived is applied to us today. This is the great exchange.

So, Ephesians is instructing us to dress up in and protect our hearts with a righteousness that is not our own. Remember, we put on the full armor of God.

Our spiritual hearts contain our affections, desires, interests, intentions, and emotions. When we examine our hearts, we discover what’s most important to us. And what’s found in our hearts determines how we function in our daily lives. So if these areas are not guided appropriately or rooted in righteousness:

• Our affections draw us toward detrimental things and people

• Our desires pursue sinful lusts

• Our interests don’t match God’s end goal

• Our intentions are immoral

• Our emotions are erratic

In short, we are a real mess. And spiritual defeat is the norm instead of the exception.

But, instead if we apply a righteous standard to these areas of our heart, we experience:

• Our affections drawn in the direction of God’s intended plan

• Our desires rewired to want what God wants

• Our interests piqued by things with eternal value

• A purity in our intentions

• Truth overruling our emotions

In any attack, enemies go for the jugular, targeting the things that matter most to us. The things that dominate our thinking, monopolize our time, and tug at our heart strings. But there is a remedy.

In the case of a physical heart attack, the emergent treatment is M.O.N.A.:

Morphine: to alleviate the chest pain and decrease the heart’s demand for oxygen

Oxygen: to get vital oxygen to the area(s) of the heart that will die without it

Nitroglycerin: to dilate or expand the blood vessels to allow more blood flow

Aspirin: to address any blood clots that may be present, restricting blood flow and oxygen delivery

Likewise, in a spiritual heart attack, the immediate response is to be M.O.N.A. We can illustrate with the example of a job loss.

Meditate on the truth of God’s word and memorize scripture.

• Identify scripture passages that are relevant to your problem, addiction, conflict, or struggle. You’re gathering your arsenal of firepower.

• Has God made a promise I need to believe? Is there a command I need to heed? Did someone else in scripture have this problem? How did they approach it and what was the outcome? Whether deemed wise or unwise, what can I learn from their experience to apply to my current situation?

• Rehearse the truth so much, it becomes your normal response. Write it down on index cards, post it on social media, tape it to your mirror or steering wheel, recite it out loud, read it in private. Constantly run into God’s truth about your problem.

In a job loss, find scriptures related to God’s provisions and/or God’s expectations and guidance. Psalm 23:1, Jeremiah 17:5-8, 2 Thessalonians 3:10.

Own up to any sin He reveals that may have contributed to this current state. God’s word is a mirror (James 1:23-25) that shows us who we really are. Agree with it and allow the same word to show us how to get it right.

• Do a heart-check to examine my affections, desires, interests, intentions, and emotions to determine if they line up with scripture.

Was I lazy? Was greed my motivation? Did I neglect to recognize that God is my only Source and the job is merely one of many resources God used to supply my needs? Was I pursuing something that displeased You?

Name at least 3 reasons to give thanks in the midst of a bad situation instead of complaining.

• Thanksgiving repositions God on the throne in our minds and shrinks the problem down to size

• Thanksgiving forces us to view the things that happen to us from God’s perspective. Even if it’s not good we can trust Romans 8:28 and be grateful it’s working for our good and His glory

Give thanks for the 10 years of continuous employment that allowed you to support your family. Be grateful for the new job God is preparing you to obtain. Show gratitude for the opportunity to see Him in a brand new way as Jehovah Jireh, the God who makes provision for His children.

Act in light of the truth

• Since your heart has now been conditioned to seek out the truth and you’ve meditated on and memorized the truth, that standard of righteousness will be pumped to the rest of the body.

• Your body will now do what was dictated by the changed heart, which was guided by the truth of God’s word

Acknowledge God as Provider by choosing not to worry (Matthew 6:31-33). Look for tangible ways He makes provisions for you while unemployed (Psalm 24:1). Actively seek employment as a demonstration of faith, trusting He will give guidance as to what to pursue (Psalm 32:8).

Put on the breastplate of righteousness. What you’ll experience is real transformation from the inside out and spiritual victory in areas that defeated you in the past.

In what area is your heart being attacked? How can you apply M.O.N.A. in your situation to ensure spiritual victory? Feel free to leave a comment below and/or share this post with others. Thanks for stopping by!