Matters of the Heart: 101- What Are You Chewing On?

It was 4:50 am on a Monday, the start of a new week. I slightly opened my eyes to turn off the alarm, hitting snooze just once more. Instead of drifting back into a peaceful state of sleep, my mind immediately took off. I was imagining myself in emergency situations, experiencing tragic losses and overwhelmed with worry. Immediately the Holy Spirit intervened reminding me of the scripture "Take captive every thought and make it obedient to the mind of Christ". I said a prayer over the bad things I thought and asked God to give me a peaceful day. I was thankful for the intervention but also really upset with how quickly my mind wandered to the worst situations.

This week we are covering the seed of meditation. Meditation has many meanings depending on the culture or the context but in this case, meditation is thinking about what God says in His Word and then applying it to our everyday life. The Bible is full of promises from God and we are more able to fully experience His promises when we know what the scriptures say. When we meditate on God's word we allow the scriptures to take root in our heart becoming the source that we use to filter our thoughts, actions, and words.

When I woke up that morning, my thoughts so easily drifted to places that made me feel afraid, anxious, and alone. As I went about my day, I wondered how my day could begin in such a negative way. I literally opened my eyes and attacks on my peace of mind came full force. As I thought about it further, I realized that what I had been meditating on was not the Word of God. 🥴🥴🥴

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. -Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

We can guard our hearts well when we put into practice what the scripture tells us by feeding our minds with good things. Over the weekend, I spent more time watching suspense and action-filled movies, watching shows that were full of drama, and listening to music that was trendy but empty than I spent meditating on God's Word and His promises.

There's a common phrase that says, "You are what you eat". In short, it means that what we put into our bodies will affect how we feel, think and act. In the past, I thought of this saying for what I consume physically but it applies to our spiritual hearts as well. A question I want to ask is what are you chewing on? Do you feed your heart with God's Word or do you feast on the things the world says about you? Do the conversations you engage in, the music you listen to, and the TV shows you watch validate and align with God's truth? Or does it wage war in your mind and go against what He says?

The scripture of focus for this month is Proverbs 4:23; Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. If we want our hearts to flow consistently and empower us with what we need, we need to feed our heart with what it needs. Take steps this week and practice guarding your physical and spiritual heart by being mindful and intentional about what you consume and chew on. If you are up for the challenge, find ways to incorporate heart-healthy foods such as garlic, leafy green vegetables, and whole grains into your diet this week and after fixing your meal carve out time for your spiritual heart and meditate on God's Word!

Check out more heart-healthy foods here!