Let the Heart Control the Mind
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23
The Lord speaks to our hearts, and our hearts should control our thoughts. The love in our hearts gives us the power to control our thoughts. Satan tempts us through our flesh which changes our thoughts. If we go to the Spirit who speaks to our hearts, we can capture the thought. We live out of our hearts for the Lord, but Satan tempts us to live out of our fleshly desires.
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6) Our spiritual war is within us; we are governed either by our heart or by our flesh. The Lord changes our heart as we live for Christ by ministering to the world. Therefore, the power to overcome comes from our heart. How do we seek to always live from our hearts and not live by our fleshly desires? Our Godly hearts seeks the Spirit, and our hearts control our thoughts, while Satan wants to control our thoughts directly from our flesh.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10) If we can remain still and slow down inside, it will help us to be controlled from our hearts through the Spirit. If we can be consciously aware to live out of the Spirit feeding our hearts, we can detect when we are tempted to live from our flesh.
If our emotions are hurried, angry, or fearful, we will more susceptible to the temptation of responding from our flesh. If we desire to be in control and still inside, we must take control of our emotions. Satan will use our emotions against us, to activate our desire to accept his temptation. The Lord knows how Satan tempts us and that is why He tells us to be still inside, so we live out calmly from our hearts.
The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) The Lord changes our heart to the heart of Jesus because everything we do flows from it. The more of God’s love we have in our hearts, the more power we have to live by the Spirit and not live by our fleshly desires.
Today, seek to be still inside and live from the heart which means we often need to momentarily stop and pray before we think or act. Don’t let your words and actions be controlled directly from your flesh. Take any fleshy desires to the Spirit and respond with Godly wisdom.
Prayer: Lord, keep changing my heart to the heart of Jesus, and give me power to live from my heart and not directly from my fleshly desires. In Jesus’ name, Amen