Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
The importance of the heart and mind is seen here in this verse. The very issues of life proceed out of the heart and mind (thoughts).
The Old Testament word for ‘issues’ brings out the meaning of what ‘goes out or goes forth or proceeds from.’ What we see is that what resides in the heart, mind, are both virtues and vices. When Christ comes into our life, He does not patch up our natural virtues, but we become new creatures.
For example: Fears reside in our heart (mind). Proverbs 12:25 “Anxiety (fear) in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.”
When we face physical fear, we take in deep breaths, our blood runs faster, and we find physical fear subsiding. We find the same thing with the heart (mind); God puts a new concern in our hearts (mind): the “fear lest I grieve Him.”
We also find that anguish resides in our heart (mind). Psalms 102:4 “My heart is stricken and withered like grass, So that I forget to eat my bread.” This is referring to extreme pain or distress that comes upon us. It brings out the thought that what I suffer from proves where my heart (mind) is.
For example: What did Jesus suffer from? When we read the gospels, we see that He suffered our sin against the Father, the pride of man and man’s self-will against God. Do we feel as Jesus did? Or, do we find our heart (mind) stricken, withered because of our own mistakes or choices that we made, and continue to make?
We also find that when God gets our heart (mind) right that He brings us into the fellowship of HIS sufferings. Philippians 3:10 “…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” To know Him is life eternal; we long for the resurrection of the body and we are willing to suffer the offense of the Cross and even martyrdom for the truth.
It is also in the heart (mind) that unity takes place. Acts 4:32 “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” It is in the heart (mind) that God brings body, soul and spirit together; this is having a perfect heart (mind), not a divided heart (mind) or double heart (mind). The world, the flesh and the Devil can do the same thing.
We also find that joy resides in the heart (mind) as well. Reading through Scripture we find that the Bible does not talk about ‘happy’ Christians, because happiness depends upon our happenings. We live in a sad world. I have had the privilege of being able to travel and what I have seen in other countries does not bring about much happiness.
What I saw in East Pakistan when it was in the process of breaking off from West Pakistan and becoming Bangladesh – was not a happy occasion. The suffering of millions of refugees moving into West Bengal, India and the suffering that was there was not a happy occasion. Young university girls being herded into compounds and being systematically raped by soldiers until they were pregnant and seeing many of them committing suicide by hanging, first by the sari that they wore, and then when that was taken away they committed suicide by their beautiful long hair. Going to Dhaka (the Capital) and seeing the hair of these young ladies flung into the nearby trees by the soldiers – was not a happy scene. I could go on, but we get the picture. We live in a sad world.
However, unlike happiness, joy does not depend upon our circumstances. We should be able to face the stern issues of life because the fruit of the Spirit is joy, and in also knowing that God is sufficient for every problem that the devil can present.
We see this throughout the New Testament with the Apostles and what they faced. We also see this throughout church history. This is what the series on “Terror to Triumph” brought out as well, as we looked at the spread of the Kingdom of God from the beginning until now in the 21st century.
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” We need to fill our heart (mind) with the Word of God. Colossians 3:16 “Let the teaching concerning Christ remain as a rich treasure in your hearts (minds). In all wisdom teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and sing with grace in your hearts to God.” Weymouth