Broken For Building

A few nights ago, I took out trash and forgot to close my garage door. You see I’m pretty meticulous about securing the entries into my home.  I’m always asking someone to double check to ensure that every door is correctly locked. That night,  I double checked the front and back doors; I made sure the alarm was on and everything just right. Unfortunately, I forgot to secure the entry into the garage,  a major entry way into the home,  especially if the back doors are unlocked.

Doors can either keep things in or allow things in. This experience made me reflect on the fact that just as our home has multiple entry points, our spiritual body has entry points as well.  Which spiritual doors are we leaving unlocked in our lives?  Which entryways are we not securing? Sometimes, we are meticulous about keeping our homes clean, but we pay little attention to what we allow into our spirits.

What we feeding into our spirits? Are we allowing God to secure those entryways, so that what comes in is fruitful and beneficial and not harmful for us?

There are two things we can do to ensure that we protect the entryway to our spirits:

1. Guard Your Heart  – Proverbs 4:23 tells us “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” If we are not careful, our heart can allow bitterness, anger, frustration, envy or a host of other emotions to enter into our lives. These emotions open the doors to a floodgate of negativity, worries and fears. Once in, these emotions have the power to direct our actions and thoughts.

2. Put on the whole armor of God – Ephesians 6:13  states “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Walking in God’s truth, staying in His presence, reading and meditating on the Word of God, and constantly communicating with God helps to sharpen our focus so that we can quickly spot potential compromises in our spiritual lives.  

Dear Lord, help me to pay keen attention to the things that I allow into my spirit. Help me to discern things, people and activities that cause me to compromise my spiritual walk with you.