I’ve been using The Practice Co Devotional (currently on Day 8) in my phone and read an article yesterday about a writing challenge (writing in the morning every day for 30 days straight!) and thought why not fuse the two together. I will start small and share Devotional Reflections starting today towards the end of July.
Can you believe it’s July already?
I guess what I miss the most is having the freedom to travel anywhere especially when I need to recharge my social batteries or feel the need to explore a new place. I miss going to the beach and absorb the serenity it brings. I miss dining out with my constants, miss game nights, missed family gatherings and celebrations, and will probably miss another one soon.
But please stay safe and stay home. Wear your mask and other protective garments/items. Maintain social and physical distancing. Drink water. Eat nutritious foods. Sleep well. De-stress. De-stress. De-stress.
Anywayyyyy, here’s my first devotional reflection ๐
So above all, guard the affections of your heart,
for they affect all that you are.
Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being,
for from there flows the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
Ask your self this: What is at the heart of my heart?
When you answer this question, examine the deepest corners of your heart. The answer to this question affects all that you are, what you do and how you see others.
Here are some of my favorite lines from the devotional app:
“I believe that goodness is our original design. If we seek it within ourselves, we’ll find it.”
“Instead of needing to be rescued from your heart, emancipated from your own humanness, Christ invites you to be healed and restored to your true nature, which has been there all along. It’s a homecoming, not a rescue mission.”
“The core of your being is not in opposition to God but in harmony.”
I’ve heard and read it over and over again. “Guard your heart”. But what does it really mean? I like how it was defined in Crosswalk, “..simply means remaining faithful to what is asked of us as Christians.”
In our time today, it makes sense to want to fit in with those around us: the clothes we wear, how we speak, how we behave, how we love, how we treat others. Yet if we really look into every aspect of our being, are we following the Lord’s will through our words and actions?
โMy friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and honorable. Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and actions. Then the God who gives us peace will be with you.โ (Philippians 4:8-9)
I guess we really have to guard our hearts because first, it’s extremely valuable. We don’t guard things that don’t have any value. If we value our material possessions so much, we should value our hearts even more.
Second, it’s the source of everything we do. According to the scripture I shared above, it says “from there flows the wellspring of life“. Our heart overflows into our thoughts, words, and actions. Like if you love someone, you think good thoughts about them, you tell them you love them and you are passionate towards them. Yet if we dislike someone, we could be rude to them and we can say hurtful things to them.
And because it’s always under attack. I mean, your heart and mind are always under attack. And usually it causes a lot of stress. I like how Michael Hyatt & Co. described it, “these attacks often come in the form of some circumstance that leads to disappointment, discouragement, or even disillusionment.” And it could lead to depression too.
We encounter different problems daily and some might categorize it to big and small yet both have an impact in our hearts.
One of my favorite songs, Don’t Lose Heart goes,
All of us
Have days when we feel small
Like we’re not good enough
Seems like everything’s your fault
But don’t give up because
That’s not who you really are
Even when you lose
Don’t lose heart
Because if we lose heart, we have lose everything.
Thank you for reading my first reflection, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Come back tomorrow for my next one ๐
