Proverbs 4:23-27 says, Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.  Put away from thee a forward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.  Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.  Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.  Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
 These days it’s too easy to get your eyes off the things of God, for there are many distractions.  And if you don’t have enough of them, don’t worry, the devil will find a few for you. 

 He has more things to keep your mind off of God than the forest has trees.  And of course, every person has his or her own personality that may or may not match your own particular traits.  What may be a distraction for one person may not be for me, for example, I’m not in the least bit attracted to liquor, but if things in my office are not orderly, I find myself getting distracted from what I’m supposed to be focused on, to put things in order first.  To each their own, right?  And it’s not necessarily something evil that the devil uses to distract us from spending time with God.
 I have a dear friend who sells cars, only he gets so tied up doing other things for people, he doesn’t sell many cars.  And if he doesn’t sell enough cars, his family suffers financially.  So he has to work harder, and that ties up more of his time, which ultimately takes up time the Lord would like to spend with him.  The poor guy is so stressed out every time I talk to him that it breaks my heart.  I know how he feels, because I have to work on myself to keep out of that trap.  If the devil can’t come in the front door to destroy you, he will try the back door by keeping you chasing the wind.  Either way, you suffer for it.
 Keeping your heart with all diligence means to consider what you feel is most important, then refusing to be moved from it.  You could say it’s “keeping the main thing the main thing”, and sometimes we all fail to do that.   Keeping God’s word before us is the “main thing”, it should be in our heart, in our mouth, in every area of our life.  When we speak as the world speaks, “Oh, I’m so sick and tired.  I just can’t get ahead.  My family is a mess.  I’m so broke I can’t pay attention…”, we are speaking against the Word of God, for Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.  Instead, we should be speaking what GOD says about us instead of what we see going on in the world around us.  One person told me, Hey, don’t come here, the flu’s going around.  I told him, No worries, the flu goes around me, it wants nothing to do with me.  You see, my mouth is in agreement with God’s word, and God’s word works for me because I work the Word.  I refuse to let circumstances run my life.  Although I get my share of opportunities to speak perversely, when I consider how I should speak, the Holy Spirit always reminds me if I’m about to open my mouth and insert foot, to consider my words before sending them forth.  Do I ever fail?  Sure, but it’s not a habit.
   I take time to ponder the path I’m on, is it leading to eternal life, or am I headed the way of destruction?  The cost of taking the wrong path is more costly than I care to pay.  So often in the heat of the moment, we fail to consider the cost, and the devil takes advantage.  Sure, God gives us grace, but grace is a “safety net” in case we fail, not a “trampoline” for abuse.  God will establish our path if we will look to Him to lead us, instead of letting our fleshly desires lead us.  Remember, where you go, God goes.  What you look at, God looks at.  What you say, God listens to.  Now, does that make you reconsider anything you’re doing?  If so, then some changes may be in order. 
Don’t let the devil lay condemnation on you if you need to make some adjustments.  Romans 8:1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  God isn’t condemning you, He’s merely saying, “Here’s the right way, walk in it.”  Once you’re on that right path, don’t get off!  As you purpose in your heart to make your ways pleasing unto the Lord, He honors that in your life.  He will minister to you by the Holy Spirit to keep you on the path that leads to life, and will not forsake you.  Will you ever stumble or make a misnake//////mistake?  Most likely, but the compassion and grace of God will prove most tender and loving as you take heed to your life to live pleasing to Him.  You would be amazed at how graceful God is, how patient and loooooooooonnnnnngggsuffering He is toward those who are really trying to please Him. 
 By the way, are we longsuffering toward those we live with and work with?  That’s a quality that God would love for us to have.  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  By that I mean that we should look at how God acts, and imitate Him.   I see longsuffering in my wife, and that’s what drew me to her.  Are you easily offended?  If so, then why?  Love is not touchy or rude or impatient.  I have to take a lesson from my Pastor, he doesn’t let anything offend him.  Oh, I’m sure he’s had plenty of opportunities to be offended, but apparently it is an offense to him (pun intended).  And because of that, he’s one of the happiest people I’ve ever met.  It almost offends me that he’s so doggone happy..…there oughta be a law against it!  He guards his heart diligently, and you can’t convince me that it’s always easy or convenient, no matter how long he’s been doing it.  But God never promised us easy, did He?  We must consider the cost of our salvation, it came cheap to us, but at an extremely high cost to the Lord Jesus. 
 It seems to me, the least we could do is consider what the Lord Jesus suffered for us, how He had to consider His words and ways ever so carefully, in order to be our perfect sacrifice.  One sin, just ONE sin would have disqualified Him from being our Savior, and the weight of that upon Him must have been more than we could ever imagine.  But He counted the cost and somehow considered all us messed up people worth the agony He would have to endure. 
Don’t you know, as the Lord Jesus walked the path carrying His cross, He was pondering the path He was on, knowing what lied before Him, and yet, He did not turn to the left or to the right, but stayed the course for us.  A song says, Amazing love, how can it be, that You my Lord would die for me?  Amazing love, I know it’s true, and it’s my joy to honor You, in all I do, I honor You. 

    He guarded His heart….for YOU!  Will you do the same for HIM?