21 Day Challenge- Day Seventeen

"Down. Set. Hike!" Dad dropped back to pass in what had become a serious game of backyard football one Christmas break. I needed to make a big play. My younger brother, John, and I were playing for bragging rights and he was winning!
So as I took off running, I looked back at my Dad. The ball was already in the air. Dad had launched it! I turned it up a gear and ran as fast as I could, keepng my eyes on the ball the whole way. Sure enough the timing was perfect, but John was right there with me. As he jumped to try to knock the ball away, it sailed over his outstretched hands. I caught the ball, running at a full sprint!
I was so excited because I was about to score the game winning touchdown. But just as I looked up from making the catch, WHAM! I ran right into a tree! The collision knocked me flat on my back, and the ball fell out of my hands. I was stunned. I looked back at my brother to try to figure out what had just happened, only to see him rolling on the ground in hysterical laughter.
I had made the right moves. I had done all the right things, but I left myself vulnerable to an unforseen obstacle, and there I sat embarrassed and in pain.
You know, that's not unlike what can happen to us as Christians if we are not careful. We know
our goal is a life of service to Christ. We keep our eyes on the prize. We go about our business doing good things, but if we don't guard our hearts, we are vulnerable to being wounded by the obstacles the enemy puts in our path.
***Read Proverbs 4:23***
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." (New Living Translation)
Guarding your heart is not a matter of avoiding the pains in life. It's a matter of keeping your heart tender before God no matter what the circumstances. An unprotected heart becomes callused with each collision and pain. A callused heart become hard. A hard heart is too broken for relationship with God or with people. That's why the Bible says to "guard your heart, because it affects everything you do."