2021 – Available 21 Day Fast
Keep Your Heart Available

Luke 6:45 NIV

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Sometimes I feel like life catches me off guard. There are moments in all of our lives where we can quickly become overwhelmed. It seems like attacks come from the middle of nowhere! In those moments of despair, it seems impossible for things to get back on track. In those moments, we tend to say and do things we will regret. But what if we were ready for the bad times?

As I was reading through Luke, this verse jumped off of the page at me. I can remember hearing this verse when I was a kid. I can remember my mom making me to memorize this verse every time I said a “Bad Word.” But it wasn’t until later in life that I finally stopped to consider the importance of the words. When we turn our hearts to what is good, everything we do changes. In the tough seasons, it is like we are being squeezed. When you squeeze something, you see what is really on the inside. We have to make sure that what we are putting into our hearts is what we want to come out when we are squeezed. Whatever you store up in your heart is what is made available to others.

What if, when every time you faced something hard, praise came out? What if, every time someone stabbed you in the back, grace came out? It is impossible to know exactly what is going to happen to us, but we all know bad things will come. If we are not careful, we can forget to store up good in our hearts. We can become complacent and unappreciative in our good seasons. I want to encourage you, no matter what season you are in, start storing up good in your heart. I want to be known by my love, not by the things I said when I let my guard down.

Your personal application:

1. Store up good. We can read our Bibles more, listen to worship music more, and spend more time with God.
2. Consume less of what is not good. We can start filtering out some of the things that don’t contribute value to our lives. Don’t be legalistic but be realistic. Ask yourself, “Is what I am watching causing me to do or say things I don’t want to?”
3. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts above all else.

Philip Pine

Next Gen Pastor