“Thou hidden Source of calm repose,
Thou all-sufficient Love divine,
My Help and Refuge from my foes,
Secure I am while Thou art mine:
And lo! From sin, and grief, and shame,
I hide me, Father, in Thy name."
Morning light streams in through the plastic slats of the window blind, filling the room with a beckoning glow. My senses awaken, and my mind slowly shakes off the fog of slumber.
I take note of where I am. I recognize my first thoughts and clumsily sift them through the filter of Truth mercifully placed there by God Himself.
My first thoughts reveal the unguarded ponderings of the night. My brain has spent the night rummaging through and ruminating over life. In those first moments, I may experience a small triumph, or I may dive head first into a pool of lies; either way there is a resolve within me to bring those thoughts captive before the One who loves me as I arise and take the first steps into the unknown territory of a new day.
I take note of where I am. I recognize my first thoughts and clumsily sift them through the filter of Truth mercifully placed there by God Himself.
My first thoughts reveal the unguarded ponderings of the night. My brain has spent the night rummaging through and ruminating over life. In those first moments, I may experience a small triumph, or I may dive head first into a pool of lies; either way there is a resolve within me to bring those thoughts captive before the One who loves me as I arise and take the first steps into the unknown territory of a new day.
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”Luke 6:45
Take note of the specific words God selected for use in this verse: good, treasure, heart, evil, abundance and speak. The word of God is a well-crafted letter of love. It is a letter of the truest kind of love: a guide, a sacrificial support, a gentle but firm reproof, and an honest account of the contents of our heart and of our mind.
As the heart is the wellspring of all our words and actions, it is vital to remain diligent as to our stock and supply. What we are without is a product of what we are within. Decision making is exhausting. Habit is our friend, and the habit of careful attention to our store of “goods” within is valuable to the health of our Christian life. God has laid the rails; we are to stay on track. Vigilant we must be, for constant is the battle, as the wind is rarely at our backs upon the sea of life.
The main thought of this verse has to do with what comes forth from storage. Little by little, we pack away things in our storehouse. Multitudes of thoughts crowd the recesses of our heart. If we have not properly instructed the Guard to this facility and have the filter of God’s word in place, well, anything can roll on in.
However, if we are aware of what is seeking to gain entrance and become extremely particular about that which is allowed to dwell therein, then our repository of thoughts become a true treasure.
In our verse, “good,” describes both the character of the man and the quality of the treasure. Ah, makes sense, doesn’t it? As a man thinketh, so is he. “Good,” speaks of a “good constitution or nature, salutary, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy and upright.”
Since the heart is the center of all physical and spiritual life, this is the location of our treasure. The “treasure” as stated in this verse is “the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up; storehouse, a magazine.”
It is interesting that the word magazine is a part of this definition. A magazine is a collection of things: snippets of ideas, pictures, memories, and thoughts. This is a good illustration of the myriad of things picked up and carried throughout life.
When things are picked up, they can also be put down. As one marches forward, he can pass by many things and never once stop to intermingle with them; he can choose to only observe them as he passes through the territory. He can pick things up to build his collection of a good treasure store or an evil treasure store.
If the treasure is the location where wondrous things are stored, and that storehouse is the real me, the fount of my thoughts, emotions, and will, that means I am the treasure and what fills me is what I am putting in there and is what determines if the overflow of the treasure-place qualifies as good or evil. By guarding my heart, I am living purposefully. It is my choice to fill my treasure with good or evil.
Contrary to the good that can fill our treasure, evil is “full of labors, annoyances, hardships; pressed and harassed by labors; of a bad nature or condition; ethically wicked.” Quite the contrast, isn’t it? It seems that to fill our treasure with evil is to allow the rule and reign of the world-system to fill and torment you.
This evil state within is a tedious existence fraught with fears. It is to live with an ear inclined unto the accusatory whispers of the Source of all shame and unrest. It is to live as one who greedily shoves their tuppence into a bag full of holes and whose mind finds nowhere to rest.
This evil condition of the treasure-place is an invasion of the most wicked kind, a desecration of a holy place. For who bought and paid for this treasure? God. This is His territory.
Imagine a beautiful, stone chapel. Lives were spent in the building of this edifice. Generations have worshipped God here. Beauty reigns in the design and décor. In walks a foul-breathing character who sets up shop and transforms the space into a brothel. How repelled we should be at the thought: this holy ground being used for unholy purposes.
Our actions and words flow from that which fills our heart; they flow from that in which we take delight. Our speech discloses the contents of our heart. Deception has us believing that we benefit in some way, or that we won’t be exposed by allowing reactions such as doubt, bitterness, jealousy, and hatred to reside in such a holy place as the storehouse of God’s delight. Christian, be assured, the contents of our treasure most assuredly affect our life and most assuredly will be revealed.
God rightfully owns this place of treasure, and, of course, Satan longs to invade and destroy anything that belongs to God. Satan, the Deceiver, seeks to shackle and restrain. To restrain is to hold back; to hold from action, proceeding or advancing, either by physical or moral force, or by an interposing obstacle. To limit or confine. His is a mission to steal our attention, energy, and joy by holding us back from the purpose God has ordained for us. Satan longs to kill relationships and suffocate hope. His plans are to desecrate the holy space within so that all that flows out of it is tainted with the foul odor of his touch.
On the contrary, Christ constrains and re-trains. To constrain is to compel, to urge with irresistible power, or with a power sufficient to produce the effect. Jesus desires abundant, pure, holy, and unshackled life for all. Once saved, all things are become new. Walking with Him, we know that all things will work together for good and that the work He has begun in me, He will be faithful to accomplish it to perfection. His part: keep and lead. My part: trust Him, maintain the contents of my treasure, and daily seek Him.
Did you know there was such a battle for precious ground waging within you? Do you feel the ravages of war within? It may make more sense now, for those familiar feelings of discouragement, confusion, a longing to do right but languishing in what we have done wrong are just some of the results of battle fatigue. The war rages within.
And this is why it is so important to present myself before Him daily and proclaim the disputed ground as definitively His! At the critical juncture of the escape from the bondage of Egypt Moses declares, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day.” Allow Him to battle and therefore to reign!
Ah, the blessing of a new day! Today is in all ways a new day. Let go of what weighs you down from yesterday and all the yesterdays prior. Do not mar the beauty of now with the decaying waste of the past. “Neither give place to the devil.”
For joyful living and loving today, awaken to the truth that you are His and that you are set apart to do His work as only you can do it. You are to be His mouth, His hands, and His feet in your sphere of influence.
Be washed in the morning light of renewal, hope, and promise. In fact, step outside, spread your arms out wide. Inhale deeply and smile towards heaven and declare: Glory to God! I am forgiven, I am full of life, and I am free!
Now go and live like it.
As the heart is the wellspring of all our words and actions, it is vital to remain diligent as to our stock and supply. What we are without is a product of what we are within. Decision making is exhausting. Habit is our friend, and the habit of careful attention to our store of “goods” within is valuable to the health of our Christian life. God has laid the rails; we are to stay on track. Vigilant we must be, for constant is the battle, as the wind is rarely at our backs upon the sea of life.
The main thought of this verse has to do with what comes forth from storage. Little by little, we pack away things in our storehouse. Multitudes of thoughts crowd the recesses of our heart. If we have not properly instructed the Guard to this facility and have the filter of God’s word in place, well, anything can roll on in.
However, if we are aware of what is seeking to gain entrance and become extremely particular about that which is allowed to dwell therein, then our repository of thoughts become a true treasure.
In our verse, “good,” describes both the character of the man and the quality of the treasure. Ah, makes sense, doesn’t it? As a man thinketh, so is he. “Good,” speaks of a “good constitution or nature, salutary, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy and upright.”
Since the heart is the center of all physical and spiritual life, this is the location of our treasure. The “treasure” as stated in this verse is “the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up; storehouse, a magazine.”
It is interesting that the word magazine is a part of this definition. A magazine is a collection of things: snippets of ideas, pictures, memories, and thoughts. This is a good illustration of the myriad of things picked up and carried throughout life.
When things are picked up, they can also be put down. As one marches forward, he can pass by many things and never once stop to intermingle with them; he can choose to only observe them as he passes through the territory. He can pick things up to build his collection of a good treasure store or an evil treasure store.
If the treasure is the location where wondrous things are stored, and that storehouse is the real me, the fount of my thoughts, emotions, and will, that means I am the treasure and what fills me is what I am putting in there and is what determines if the overflow of the treasure-place qualifies as good or evil. By guarding my heart, I am living purposefully. It is my choice to fill my treasure with good or evil.
Contrary to the good that can fill our treasure, evil is “full of labors, annoyances, hardships; pressed and harassed by labors; of a bad nature or condition; ethically wicked.” Quite the contrast, isn’t it? It seems that to fill our treasure with evil is to allow the rule and reign of the world-system to fill and torment you.
This evil state within is a tedious existence fraught with fears. It is to live with an ear inclined unto the accusatory whispers of the Source of all shame and unrest. It is to live as one who greedily shoves their tuppence into a bag full of holes and whose mind finds nowhere to rest.
This evil condition of the treasure-place is an invasion of the most wicked kind, a desecration of a holy place. For who bought and paid for this treasure? God. This is His territory.
Imagine a beautiful, stone chapel. Lives were spent in the building of this edifice. Generations have worshipped God here. Beauty reigns in the design and décor. In walks a foul-breathing character who sets up shop and transforms the space into a brothel. How repelled we should be at the thought: this holy ground being used for unholy purposes.
Our actions and words flow from that which fills our heart; they flow from that in which we take delight. Our speech discloses the contents of our heart. Deception has us believing that we benefit in some way, or that we won’t be exposed by allowing reactions such as doubt, bitterness, jealousy, and hatred to reside in such a holy place as the storehouse of God’s delight. Christian, be assured, the contents of our treasure most assuredly affect our life and most assuredly will be revealed.
God rightfully owns this place of treasure, and, of course, Satan longs to invade and destroy anything that belongs to God. Satan, the Deceiver, seeks to shackle and restrain. To restrain is to hold back; to hold from action, proceeding or advancing, either by physical or moral force, or by an interposing obstacle. To limit or confine. His is a mission to steal our attention, energy, and joy by holding us back from the purpose God has ordained for us. Satan longs to kill relationships and suffocate hope. His plans are to desecrate the holy space within so that all that flows out of it is tainted with the foul odor of his touch.
On the contrary, Christ constrains and re-trains. To constrain is to compel, to urge with irresistible power, or with a power sufficient to produce the effect. Jesus desires abundant, pure, holy, and unshackled life for all. Once saved, all things are become new. Walking with Him, we know that all things will work together for good and that the work He has begun in me, He will be faithful to accomplish it to perfection. His part: keep and lead. My part: trust Him, maintain the contents of my treasure, and daily seek Him.
Did you know there was such a battle for precious ground waging within you? Do you feel the ravages of war within? It may make more sense now, for those familiar feelings of discouragement, confusion, a longing to do right but languishing in what we have done wrong are just some of the results of battle fatigue. The war rages within.
And this is why it is so important to present myself before Him daily and proclaim the disputed ground as definitively His! At the critical juncture of the escape from the bondage of Egypt Moses declares, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day.” Allow Him to battle and therefore to reign!
Ah, the blessing of a new day! Today is in all ways a new day. Let go of what weighs you down from yesterday and all the yesterdays prior. Do not mar the beauty of now with the decaying waste of the past. “Neither give place to the devil.”
For joyful living and loving today, awaken to the truth that you are His and that you are set apart to do His work as only you can do it. You are to be His mouth, His hands, and His feet in your sphere of influence.
Be washed in the morning light of renewal, hope, and promise. In fact, step outside, spread your arms out wide. Inhale deeply and smile towards heaven and declare: Glory to God! I am forgiven, I am full of life, and I am free!
Now go and live like it.
“Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” Joshua 3:5b
As seasons of life change, Elizabeth happily remains desperately dependent upon her God. Three of her four children have now branched off to begin their own families. She is a homeschooling veteran and a faithful wife for over 30 years.
Read Elizabeth’s salvation testimony here and her articles here.
Comments 1
I just read those verses the other day!
Such true thoughts and where we live day by day!
Thank you for the reminder!