Daily Victory

November 14, 2011

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Proverbs 4:20-26

The path toward daily victory lies in how we guard our inner life. A lot of things are vying for our attention and, with all the sensory reinforcement in the world, many have forgotten the hidden person of the heart. But how we tend to the soil of our hearts will show up in our words, our thought life, and our attitudes.

One way to guard your heart is to guard what comes out of your mouth: “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless” (James 1:26). When a bridle gets in a horse’s mouth the horse can be turned by a simple maneuver. In the same way, if you control your tongue, your whole life will get in line. Bridling, though, is not always about being silent; sometimes it means boldly declaring the Word of God in the face of opposition by calling those things that be not as though they are (Romans 4:17).

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

The heart is influenced by sensory gates, so we need to surround ourselves with the environment of the Word—what God says. Every time you read your Bible your mind is renewed. The Word is so powerful that meditating on it causes a change in your heart and in your life (Joshua 1:8).

God wants rivers of living water to flow out of you to reach a lost and dying world, so it is critical to keep your heart from things that would block the flow. Don’t back down from a daily commitment to guard your heart, bridle your tongue, and renew your mind in the Word. Those disciplines will equip you to obtain and maintain victory in every area.

Press On!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.