Guarding the Heart... King Asa

"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life" Proverbs 4:23. Many of you know this verse. Some of you are more familiar with the words "guard your heart." That is not a translation I use. However, the truth is the same. We guard our hearts by testing everything against Scripture. 1 Thessalonians 5:21, "test everything; hold fast what is good." This is a simple instruction to disciples. The stumbling happens when we do not want to submit to God because something we desire has grabbed our hearts. We have let it go its own way and have not brought it to obedience to God's Word.

Romans 8 tells us we live in a war zone, and the battleground is us. The warring factions are the flesh in one corner and our spirits in the other. The bell rings as soon as our eyes open in the morning until we close them at night. For many, the battle lines are clear. The meditation on God's Word to transform the heart has made victory for the spirit possible. Living victorious scenarios is commonplace. Occasionally, the flesh gets a TKO. This heart has been guarded by understanding the necessity of repentance. That, too, is a win. Knowing that God holds his arms open for the repentant sinner and his repentant child is a knowledge that guards our hearts with humility.

In 2 Chronicles 16, one of my favorite Old Testament passages of Scripture rings out. It is such a favorite. My husband had it made as a picture to hang in our home years ago. "For the eyes of the LORD run to and from throughout the whole earth, to give support to those whose heart is blameless toward him, v.9" This verse is in connection to the history of King Asa, one of the good, obedient Kings of Judah. Asa's religious reforms brought a change to Judah that turned the people from idols back to worshiping God correctly. Their idol worship brought God's disciplining hand on them; 2 Chronicles 15 "They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress." The Lord commended Asa for guarding his heart as the new King in a Nation that had been led away from their God. Asa "took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin..." God was with Asa, and He blessed Judah for their obedience to Him and their covenant with Him again. That is such encouragement to us. God wants obedient people. God is ready to bless those who guard their heart in relation to walking with Him. Reading these passages, you see how Asa did that very thing.

Here is what I would take from Asa's story as God calling him to guard his heart. 2 Chronicles 15:2 "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you..." I know you read that and think, "wait, is she talking about losing your salvation?" What exactly do you mean? What I am saying is simply what the Scripture says, if you forsake God, do not guard your heart, you will find that he lets you get what you are asking for. Is that losing your salvation or other? Let the Scripture inform that belief.

We have skimmed through the time of Judah's success under Asa when he guarded his heart and obediently walked with God. We need to read the end of his story. A heart not guarded, where pride and anger allowed Asa's end to be far different than his beginning. I asked a question about marriage on Facebook one time. I asked older couples to give advice to younger couples so they, too, may find success in their covenant relationships. One of my friends wisely said, "It doesn't matter how long we've been married. We have to remember we have an adversary whose mission is to kill, steal and destroy, deceive, divide and conquer. That means we each have to walk closely with the LORD and be intentional about guarding our hearts and marriage." The key that stood out from what she said is we can never get lazy or think we've arrived because Satan is ready for his minions to pounce when we are not guarded. This proves true in Asa's story. Sadly, many believers who fall into lethargy in their relationship with God are not walking with Him because they've become angry at his discipline in some area of their life. They did not want to let go of something he did not want for them. An older, mature disciple may have admonished them. The correction came through his Word, but they would not yield. This happens, and most of us know someone in this camp. It is sad to say, "Yes, I do." That is all a result of not guarding the heart.

Asa is this example in 2 Chronicles 16. After dependence on God to win Judah's battle over the years, we are told that Asa began to depend on man and neglected seeking God for help. "Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the LORD your God... you have done foolishly." When he did rely on God, his enemies were given into Asa's hands for victory. God told him, "For the eyes of the LORD..." this is where my favorite passage comes in. Remember, in the first paragraph, I said a guarded heart isn't perfect, maybe in other words, but a guarded heart understands repentance will be necessary when it sins against the LORD. After all the years Asa had guarded his heart unto the LORD, he let pride and anger take him to a place where God had to bring discipline. This is where my friend's words are so apropos, "it doesn't matter how long..." I'll add, walk with the LORD. Arrival does not happen. We must guard our hearts til the day we leave this earth. That is when we are done making choices, to being judged for our living.

Asa was called out, his pride brought destruction, and his haughty look brought a fall. "You have done foolishly in this; from now on, you will have wars. Then Asa was angry..." In anger, he imprisoned the prophet who rebuked him and "inflicted cruelties upon some of the people..." Would he have been recognized by his people? Is this a man still guarding his heart?

When we don't guard our hearts and let our desires and affections for sin get in the way of our obedience, don't think you are not changed from holy to unrighteous in your attitudes and actions. That is what was seen in Asa. This story has always captivated me. Asa is not the only king that was said to be good, then turned his back on God in his later years. In the same way, we read about kings who were evil who repented, and in their humility, God did not bring the consequences He was going to bring on them.

I'd encourage you to read through 1&2 Kings and Chronicles simply to look for what guarding our hearts look like from the examples of these kings in Scripture. What are the consequences of not guarding the heart versus the rewards of doing so? Taking the time to read these passages will teach you so much. You will understand what it means to guard the heart through those men who did it well and those who did not. Their lives are lessons from the past. Yours is the living of it now.