Prov 4:7,23 - Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding..... Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Logically it all made sense. My mentors thought it wiser to stay in my career and certainly it was easier emotionally to stay. Our family and loved ones were there and we were blessed in a growing career. We were finally at a good place in life, so why risk all of it to move away and start a career in ministry? Wisdom said one thing, but our gut was telling Dianna and I another.
What do you do when your head and your heart collide?
For much of Proverbs, the writer is teaching the student to pursue wisdom. Finding what is wise is a lifelong journey taken by people who are willing to seek out Truth and Understanding. Most of us that are teachers try to help people learn what is wise and tell others to do the wise thing. In fact, even the writer of Proverbs tells us to sell everything, risk everything, and pursue whatever it takes to gain wisdom.
But then the writer of Proverbs interjects this statement to Guard our Hearts. Instead of pursuit, he encourages us to hold back in protection mode. He wants us to go on the offensive when pursuing wisdom, but then play defense when it comes to matters of the heart.
The word for the heart here describes our core---not just our emotions, but our soul. Proverbs is telling us that deep at the core of life is our soul, and it needs guarded while our mind continues its pursuit of wisdom. He is not talking about emotions, but the will of our lives to do what's right.
Emotions can be deceived and the mind can justify anything it wants to, but the soul has a compass of knowing what is right even when the facts or feelings tell us otherwise. So we need to guard our soul, even when it is in conflict with our mind or emotions or body.
Thus the conflict. Our bodies will tell us to lust after something it wants and we will expose our soul to get it. Our mind will tell us to do things that make sense, either justifying our sinful behaviors, or trying to prevent us from unsafe callings of God. And our emotions will tell us it's right because it feels good. None of those answers match the soul. The soul was built by God to have a filter that tells us what is right even when the body, mind, and emotions are wrong.
So when the conflicts come up---guard the soul. Defend what the soul is saying in your conscience, even if it restricts your body, ignores your emotions, or violates your logic. Trust the soul to know!
In our case, we asked God for confirmation. He gave it in a big way, so we took the jump. Even today after 10 years of challenges and hard work, the soul knows that doing what God said was more important than our comfort, happiness, or financial stability. We are still guarding our soul on that one today.
What does your gut know that your mind is arguing with? What is the right thing to do, that you know you should be doing but have all your reasons for another plan? What feels good to you, but goes against the Word of yGod in your soul? Guard your gut!
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