MATTHEW 6:21, Guarding our hearts in a relationship

"Forever"
What a beautiful word to live in.
And who doesn't want a forever with someone?

God did not create any of us to be alone.
He wants us to be in fellowship with others - to be in a harmonious relationship with His creation and of course with Him.

But why do we get hurt?
Why are there broken relationships?
- broken families?

Because hurts, pains, and disappointments are products of this sinful world.
They are inevitable.
There will always be struggles and testings.

So how can we be victorious in this world we are living in?

Here is some Biblical wisdom we can apply.

• Open it to the light:

We do not trust ourselves alone to overcome the world's temptation.
We have to have accountability partners - someone we trust, someone we can open with.

For a married individual, it should be none other than our spouse.
We cannot have best friends aside from our spouse opening our hearts to them especially if it is with the opposite sex (this also can be applied to a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship).

We must be careful not to have a one-on-one heart-to-heart talk with the opposite sex - may it be through social media, personal messages, or face-to-face conversation.

We must not give the devil the foothold to destroy our relationship - to take our hearts away from where and whom it should belong.
We can only share our hearts with our spouses because they are our better half.

There should be an open constant communication between a husband and a wife and every issue should be addressed toward one another and not with another party.

Since we are not meant to be alone, we must surround ourselves with people with the same values as ours.

As a married couple, we also should have accountability partners - people who also walk with the Lord and follows Him from a pure heart.
This is where we can seek wisdom that comes with ages and be encouraged with them.

This is where we can learn that every couple is different and God can really work through every marriage.

2 Timothy 2:22

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of pure heart.

It is Satan's lie that we should hide our struggles for the world will judge and condemn us.
That no one will understand us and that we can fight our battle on our own - but life's struggles aren't meant to fight alone.

Do not hide - everyone has their own kind of struggle.

God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we cannot bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Two is better than one but a cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

Luke 11:36

If you are filled with light with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.

• Do not follow your heart

Human hearts are more deceitful of all things and desperately wicked, Prophet  Jeremiah said.
Who really knows how bad it is?
(Jeremiah 17:9)

That's why the Bible is reminding us to guard it.

Proverbs 4:23

Guard your hearts for everything you do flows from it.

And so we must be careful of the saying "follow your heart"
Because by default, these hearts we have are sinful.

Our hearts are factories of desires.
It always creates, always seeks, always wants, always finds.

We are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners.

So are we hopeless now?

Of course not!
Jesus reminded us to be wise enough where to put our time, treasure, and talent.

Matthew 6:21

For wherever your treasure is, there your heart will also be.

This verse did not say,
For wherever your heart is, there your treasure will be.

Because Jesus wants us to direct our hearts.
He doesn't want us to be driven by what our heart feels - by our emotions.

Our hearts are meant to be taught.
We must not go with whatever we feel.

For wherever we put our treasure on that's our attention and focus will be.

Like if we don't feel any love for our spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend like the same way before - we do not easily withdraw from them seeking a new spark, new love.
Instead, we will choose to invest with them -  giving them our time, treasure (gifts), and talent (energy).

After all, Love is more than just a feeling.
Love is a commitment.
Love is not based on a person's behavior
Love is a decision.

Like God, He decided to love us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).