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The Need to Guard Our Thoughts

(Overcomer Wu)

“Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the well-springs of life ...” --Proverbs 4:23

The above verse is more accurately rendered based on the original Hebrew text: “Guard your heart above all that you guard.” We guard our hearts mostly by guarding our thoughts, because our thoughts is the leading part of our heart. Also, whenever the proverbs or the Bible, especially the Old Testament, speaks about the heart, it is mostly referring to our mind; while the seat of emotion is mostly referred to as the “bowels” or the “inward parts.” There is no more searching measure of your life than your thoughts. It is one of the easiest tests to apply to yourself. Who you really are is demonstrated in your thoughts. Your thoughts express your inner person – your motives, your goals, your desires, your feelings, your concepts, your priorities, and the principles that govern your life. Your thoughts and your will are closely related in that your will usually follows what your thoughts are set on, then it is followed by your action. For this reason, Proverbs 23:7 tells us: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words, what you set your mind on most of the time is the kind of person you become. Psychologists and researchers have shown that through experiments that when a perfectly healthy man thinks long enough that he is sick, he will actually become sick by psychosomatic suggestions. Thus, what are you setting your minds on most of the day? If we watch the secular news and TV shows most of the time and listen to secular music all day long, then we will start to act like the worldly people.

On the other hand, if we set our minds on the things above where Christ is (Col 3:1) and upon the Word of God, then our living will express more of Christ-likeness. Hence, Psalms chapter one tells us that the blessed man is one “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psa 1:2-3) God constantly takes note of and examines our thoughts. To a godly, Spirit-filled person this is usually a comfort and joy. You are glad He knows you through and through. You have nothing to worry about since He knows all your cares and needs, at the same time you also don't have anything to hide. We are totally transparent to God. For this reason, John 2:24-25 tell us, “... He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” Consider the satisfaction and openness in David’s prayer in Psalm 139: "O Lord, You have searched me and You know me…You perceive my thoughts from afar…Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord” (vv.1-4). How gladly David opens his heart totally to God as he concludes the psalm. "Search me, O God, and know my heart [also translated ‘thoughts’]; test me [also translated ‘probe me’] and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me [or ‘see whether there is any baneful motive within me,’ Berk.]” (Psa 139:23-24).

What does the Word of God mean by your “thought”? Definitely, it cannot refer to a momentary thought that skips through your mind when you unexpectedly hear or see something, because that involved no voluntary choice on your part. And the enemy also can implant certain fleeting thoughts into our mind. You cannot be alive and avoid the sights, sounds, and speaking about you or the tempting thoughts that Satan injects into your mind like a flaming dart (Eph 6:16). Like Martin Luther once said, “You cannot avoid a bird from flying over your head and drop on your head, but you can prevent and refuse to let a bird from making a nest on your head.” It is your reaction to these that God takes account of. If we gives ground to any inappropriate or sinful thoughts and dwell on them for an extended period of time, that is what becomes our thoughts for which we are accountable to God. Are you letting the evil birds from making a nest on/in your head?

We have constant choice in how we respond to the thoughts that are foisted upon us by our environment. It is when we pause to ponder and continue to dwell on them; or when we welcome them and return to them over and over again that God holds us responsible for them. We are not responsible for something that we happen to see in passing, but when we set our mind to entertain certain inappropriate thoughts and we cherish or nurture them, we then become culpable for these thoughts. These are the thoughts that reveal state of your inner being and further influence you and your actions. Such thoughts and meditations also are indications of the condition of your heart. Your heart, as expressed in your thought life, is the fullest expression of your real self. For example, young people who spent time watching occultic movies, listen to heavy metal music with its devilish lyrics, and watch or play violent games then end up becoming killers even at their youth... like at Columbine high school massacre in April 20, 1999 in Colorado, USA, where 13 school mates were killed by 2 students there who watch and play occultic games and movies. With similar influence, there were killings of two and wounded 13 by Charles Williams at Santee, California, USA high school on March 5, 2001; 13 teachers, 2 students and 1 policeman killed, 10 wounded by Robert Steinhauser, 19 years old, at the Johann Gutenberg secondary school in Erfurt Germany on April 26, 2002; an 18 year-old student in Tuusula, Finland shot and killed 5 boys, 2 girls, and the principal at Jokela high school and wounded 10 others before he shot himself on November 27, 2007, etc. .

Our practical godliness and holiness begins in the cleansing, empowering work of the Holy Spirit in our "heart" through the Word of God. Thus we are exhorted in Psalms 119:9-16 to receive the cleansing of our hearts through our meditating on God's Word:

“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You... With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.”

Note that the psalmist first hid the Word of God in his heart to keep him from sinning against God. It is then overflowed in his utterances through His lips in verse 13 because “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34b). Verse 14 shows us a further progression by the Word of God becoming the source of rejoicing of his heart. In verse 15 then we see the Psalmist continues in the cycle of meditating in God's Word; and in so doing, he finds greater delight to his heart.

Although no one can fully know you or measure you because no one else fully knows your thoughts, God sees and knows your thoughts thoroughly as Psalms 139 tells us. God does not merely measure your outward words and activities He is also constantly observing and recording your thoughts and the intents of your heart – your motives. This is an unspeakable blessing for a Spirit-filled Christian who walks in God’s light and is hungry to please God, for God will surely reveal to us what He displeases Him if we allowed Him to speak to us frankly and if we have ears to hear His speaking.

God knows you by your thoughts. Even when Jesus was on earth He knew what people were thinking (Matt 9:4). Your thoughts comprehend all of the real "you." They include your intentions, your desires, your prayers, your preferences, your behaviors, your purposes, your delights, your loves and dislikes, where your faith lies, your determination. All you are and all you do is founded first in your thoughts. Almost invariably your actions express only a part of your true motive, desire, or inner intents. You may love God and people either more or less than you can or are willing to express in words and actions. Your words are indeed very revealing for as we quoted above: “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”. Yet what is even of deeper revelation of yourself are your thoughts.

Thank the Lord that as we allow God's Word to operate within us, it is an active, constant, perfect discerner of the thoughts and intents of our heart (Heb 4:12-13). God will be rewarding someday for our motives, our deepest godly longings, our hunger to do His will, and our inner commitment and determinations to God, and not only for what we manage to express.

Unlike humans, when God sees us, He sees more than our words, actions, gestures, and expressions. He sees us through and through, including our inner hearts and thoughts; thus Hebrews 4:13 says, “All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” That the Lord for His grace given to us to transform us through and through says 1 Thessalonians 5:23. What holy, thrilling surprise and joy at the judgment seat of Christ when longings that characterized our heart-cry, our very soul's desires, receive God’s holy commendation. At the same time, we need to be fearful of the impure motives that we have in doing certain things just to impress man without a true heart of loving care for them, or give an eloquent utterance without living the reality of what we speak.

An example of this is given by God’s revelation through the prophet Malachi. Speaking of God, he wrote, "A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name [in Hebrew literally: ‘thought upon His Name’” (Mal. 3:16). Both the Old and New Testaments illustrate the importance of our thought life and that our thoughts are the true measure of a person. Again, we can also consider Proverbs 23:7 in this light: "As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Much of what is thought and entertained in the heart is never spoken. A person’s words may cover up his real thoughts. The heart itself can be so deceitful that you can only know it by your thoughts. For this reason, "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct” (Jer 17:10). Oftentimes, we may even need the Holy Spirit to help us recognize our own condition and how our thoughts appear before God. We may even deceive ourselves by our biased thinking; therefore, the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:4, “For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.” The Lord is known as "He who searches our hearts” (Rom 8:27).

A person is no greater than the measure of his thoughts and no holier than his/her thoughts. You are no more loving, caring, humble, patient, good, or kind than your thoughts, your true motive or intents. You are what you choose to set your mind upon; therefore, Romans 8:6 says, “the mind set upon the flesh is death, but the mind set upon the spirit is life and peace.” A child is known by childish thoughts and a mature person by the maturity of his thoughts (1 Cor 13:11). The child not merely delights to think on childish interests, he does not know how to discipline his thoughts. He thinks about what he sees and forgets quickly other things. Spiritual childishness and immaturity is shown in the same manner. No Christian dare be content until he has brought every thought into captivity to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5). Then "whatever is lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy,” these will be the things on which the mature saint thinks (Phi 4:8). One day at Christ’s judgment seat, both the Lord, other saints, and the world will know us by our hidden thoughts (Rom 2:15-16).

Measure your life by the extent to which you think of praiseworthy things about people and the extent to which you remember and brood upon unfavorable things about people. Measure your soul by the extent to which you think loving and appreciative thoughts of people and the extent to which you think critical thoughts and condemn other people in your heart, including those who you work for, who you work with, or who work for you. Measure the extent to which you have forgiven others and trust to be forgiven by the Lord to the extent to which you forgive and forget the sins of others (Matt 6:14-15).

Measure the extent to which you are one with Christ by the readiness with which you forget worldly material things and lovingly set your mind on Him, by the joy with which you turn from thoughts of yourself and other people to thoughts of Him, by the constancy with which your loving thoughts of Him occupy your free moments.

Measure your faith by the extent to which your heart is filled with thoughts of placing your full trust in the Lord, your joyful expectation and time spent with the Lord in His Word. Measure your lack of faith by the extent to which you have anxious thoughts about the uncertainties and possible difficulties of the future, by the amount of time you spend fearing and worrying, by the number of things that you allow to trouble your thoughts. Measure your faith by the extent to which you allow the peace of God to garrison your heart (Col 3:15) and by how filled your mind is with praise and thanksgiving to God. Measure your humility or the lack thereof by the extent to which you cherish and repeat in your mind the praises other people may utter in your hearing. Measure it by the extent to which you hunger for and are disappointed if you do not receive praise and accolades from others. Measure your lack of humility by the extent to which you feel uplifted by your own good deeds and the seeming lack of pride exhibited, and quickly forget or dismiss the good deeds of others. Measure your pride by the extent to which you mentally contrast the lack of spiritual experiences and knowledge of others when compared to your own.

Our thoughts can also be applied to measure any aspect of your spiritual life. For example, measure your worship of God by the greatness, exaltation, and constancy of your adoring thoughts of Him. Measure your love of God's Word by the amount of Scripture you have spent time to let it indwell your heart and the extent to which you meditate upon it and walk accordingly. Measure your watchfulness for your Lord’s return by the extent to which you love the Lord's second coming, and how His second advent motivates your every thought and action. It is out of the abundance of our heart and our thought life that our words and actions issue forth. It is out of the abundance of the thoughts that we cherish in our heart that our life is built. Certainly, God measures our acts and words, but above all He measures our thoughts. He measures and rejoices to see our reaction to thoughts that are repulsive to us and how we set them aside immediately. He measures the thoughts that brings us joy and peace, that we cherish and meditate upon over and over. From this He knows the extent to which we hate what He hates and love what He loves.

One of the most uplifting examples of a Christian whose thought life was saturated with God’s presence and God’s love was John Fletcher, a co-worker of John Wesley, who was said by Wesley to be the godliest person he had ever known. Fletcher had been a person with a strong temper, and he often lay on the floor in agony of heart and pleaded with fasting and prayers for hours and sometimes the whole night to be delivered from this evil disposition. One day, he received an overwhelming experience of being filled with God's glory. God manifested His love to and in Fletcher until he feared he would die of the overwhelming glory of God. Wesley testified that from then on for more than thirty years, until Fletcher died, "no one ever saw him out of temper, or heard him utter a rash expression." It is said that following his encounter with God, Fletcher’s every word seemed to be prayer, praise, or spiritual truth. “Every word that fell from his lips appeared to be accompanied with an unction from above.” He seemed to live and think and talk in the Spirit. He was called "an angel of a man."

Consequently, Fletcher was called "apostolic" in his preaching. Often the buildings could not hold the crowds, and people stood outside listening in through windows. For three years he was top official of Trevecca College in Wales, the school founded by Wesley’s friend Lady Huntingdon. The headmaster under Fletcher said, "He was received as an angel of God." When Fletcher was present, students laid aside everything to listen to him. He spent hours on his knees praying for the students. Once he was so overwhelmed with the Spirit’s fullness and power that, like Moody when he was Spirit-filled in Boston, Fletcher called out, "O my God, withhold Thy hand, or the vessel will burst!"

At times Fletcher would get so hungry for prayer that while talking to others he would say, in the words of Matthew 26:36, "Sit here, while I go and pray over there”. His greatest joy was to spend time in his prayer room. He was constantly giving thanks to God. "His heart was always in a grateful frame, and it was his chief delight to honor God by offering his praise and thanksgiving. Frequently he has broken out in a strain of holy rejoicing." He was said to labor constantly "to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). As Fletcher lay dying, his thoughts were filled with God. Again and again he said, "God is love! It fills me every moment! God is love! Shout! Shout aloud! Oh, it so fills me that I want a gust of praise to go to the ends of the earth!" When he no longer had strength to speak, someone asked him to raise his right hand if the Lord Jesus was still present with him and heaven was opening before him. He raised his hand.

Indeed it is our thought life that molds us into either Christ’s image or conform us into the likeness of the world and Satan (Rom 8:5-6); thus, the way the Lord wants to transform us is by renewing our mind (Rom 12:2). It is our thought life that proves the extent to which the Lord has made His home in our hearts (of which again, the controlling center is the mind). Thus Ephesians 3:16-19 say, “That Christ may dwell [literally in Greek: to make His home in] in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend [which of course involves our mind, our thoughts] with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge [it is knowledge-surpassing, yet it can be comprehended by our renewed/transformed mind]; that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.”It is beginning in our thought life that we can respond to the transformation work of the Spirit which ultimately leads to the transfiguration of your whole soul and even our body unto the whole measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph 4:13).

May we guard our hearts by guarding our thought-life today and we will have nothing to be ashamed of when the motives and thoughts of our heart are revealed on the judgment day of Christ (1 Cor 4:5). We are or become what our thoughts dwell on most of the time. Measure our life by our thoughts, then we shall stand approved and have confidence before God at the coming of Christ (1 Jn 3:21-22). Measure our life by our thoughts, and humble ourselves in the sight of God that He may renew our mind and may mold us into the image of Christ from our mind spreading to our emotion, our will, and eventually our body... according to His will (Rom 8:29).