The Benefits and the Battle of Keeping God’s Word In Your Heart
This makes ALL the difference
From Genesis to Revelation, God emphasizes the incredible blessings and benefits of believing His words and the danger if we don’t.
From the very beginning, one of the Enemy’s biggest tactics to “kill, steal, and destroy” (John 10:10a, ESV) has been to hinder us from receiving God’s words as true.(Genesis 3:1–6, ESV)
Even for those of us who believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and that the Bible is God’s inspired word, it is imperative that we are diligent in internalizing God’s word and protecting it in our souls.
Here is but one of many power-packed scriptural passages that teach us about both the Benefits and the Battle of keeping God’s words in our hearts.
Proverbs 4:20–23, ESV
“My son, be attentive to my words, incline your ear to my sayings.(21) Let them not escape from your sight, keep them within your heart.(22) For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.(23) Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Let’s briefly highlight these powerful truths:
- From the heart, our soul, flows the springs of life.
- Therefore, it is important that we diligently, consistently keep, guard, or watch over our heart.
- The state of our soul is not static, it’s alive. It’s not a set it up one time and then leave it type of thing.
- This process is ongoing.
These practices need to be daily if we want to experience God’s kind of life and healing. (vs. 22)
“Be attentive to my words.”
“Incline (humbly receive) your ear to my sayings”
“Let them not escape from your sight, keep them within your heart.”
We don’t eat food or drink water now and then. It is a regular part of staying alive and healthy. In the same way, it is important to deliberately, consistently receive God’s words, and keep them in our hearts.
5. God’s words need to be held on to and protected in our souls.
Because of the power of sin in the world and in areas of our souls, plus the devil’s consistent “doubt” thoughts, we need to, in a sense, consciously hold on to God’s words, even after initially receiving them as true.
The phrase “don’t let them escape” is so insightful. God’s words are not trying to escape from our heart; they are His seeds, engineered to grow powerfully there. But these life-giving words can “escape” if we don’t consciously treasure them and hold on to them.
6. Two of many high-value results of watching over our hearts, valuing, treasuring, and protecting God’s words are God’s kind of life and God’s kind of healing.
This is one of God’s greatest desires for us.
He wants us to experience the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3–4). Jesus came so that we would have abundant, eternal life. (John 3:16, John 10:10).
One of God’s greatest means of giving us that life is through His words.
The benefits of receiving, internalizing, and protecting God’s words in our hearts are many. That’s why the enemy is constantly attacking God’s words. That is why there is a consistent battle in our minds and hearts.
When we understand that one of Satan’s biggest goals is to steal the word from our hearts, when we understand the nature of the battle, we can take steps to win. We can experience the rich and powerful benefits of keeping God’s word planted in our hearts.
For more spiritual growth and purpose resources, I invite you to visit www.TruVineMission.com. There’s always a free book there, as well as videos, articles and other resources to help you know God better, grow spiritually, and flow in God’s purposes for your life.
