Guarding Your Heart

"Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

The other day my wife told me I needed to confess the depression that assailed me week before last. She was half kidding, but she was also right. I should call it by its ugly name. It was the sin of unbelief. Jesus was amazed that His disciples were terrified in the deadly storm, and asked how it was possible that they did not believe.

I have not taken the problem seriously. I have been letting Satan shoot these darts into my heart without taking any measures to protect myself. Today's emotional explosions finally brought the seriousness of this problem home.

Peter challenges us to tighten belts of our minds. I need to tighten the spiritual armor around my mind. I have not been quenching these painful darts quickly enough.

I must guard my mind from wandering. They used to put blinkers on horses to keep them from shying at things along the road. The blinkers kept their eyes looking straight ahead while their drivers watched the whole scene. God sees everything so we can look straight ahead. Proverbs 4:25 calls us, "Let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your gaze directly before you.

I must fix my mind on the race. I usually know what obedience is. At least I know my next step. My wife used to quote the line from the first Star Wars movie where the x-wing fighters were attacking the Death Star, to our younger kids. "Stay on target. Stay on target."

I must fill my mind with truth. In Deuteronomy 11:18 the Lord commanded, "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." This was a protection against inevitable temptation. This is one reason scripture memory is so great an aid against temptation. David wrote, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." The advantage of memorized scripture is that you have the truth always at hand.

I need to keep the positive outlook of faith. Paul told us to think about things that are true, noble, right and pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Jesus said His Father is always at work. It is important for us to see what God is doing as He makes even the schemes of Satan work out for our good. God uses our troubles to achieve an eternal glory. That is why Paul wrote, "We fix our eyes, not on what is seen but on what is unseen," and "eternal." I believe we always know something that shows the lie of Satan's schemes. Hebrews 3:1 and 12:2 call us to fix our eyes upon Jesus. Peter walked on the water as long as he was looking at Jesus. But when he saw the waves and the storm, he began to sink.

The thought went through my mind last night that my sensitive emotions give me insight into human problems and make me a better intellectual. Without doing more than noting what an arrogant deception this is, I am reminded of the struggles of Soren Keirkigaard. He held secure doctrine but was drained by unsound fears. The picture of the leap of blind faith that liberals seized upon and used as a defense of their "Christian Existentialism" came from emotions not governed by his sound doctrine. He was not saying we could not know that God is secure before we trust in Him. He was saying he did not "feel" secure. Reading Keirkigaard is depressing to the point of debilitating my faith and obedience.

Allowing discouragement and depression to have a foothold is similar to a man trying to fight the temptation of lust entering a porn shop. He will soon be overwhelmed by the temptation. The sin of rage hits us in much the same way. I suspect an alcoholic has the same problem. He cannot allow himself a sip if he wants to hold his life together. I shared this with some men in our church who noted a difference in these temptations. The man addicted to drugs, gambling or pornography is drawn by his desires. But they said, surely no one desires depression. Discouragement seems like a steep slope that must be fought against. I need to avoid the edge like a man with spiritual acrophobia. The crazy temptation related to this sin is not to fight against it. Like Tokyo Rose, discouragement undermines my morale. It says I am too weak to defeat the enemy. That is true. I am too weak, but it is not the point. We need to see Jesus who gives us the victory even when we are helpless to fight. I can do all things through God who calls what is not as though it were and it comes into being.