December 6, 2023 Be On Guard

     I knew it wasn’t a good thing when the blood pressure machine “recalibrated” on Monday morning prior to the chemotherapy treatment. 
      
     I had let down my guard.  Several things affect my blood pressure.  Some I can’t control like stress and the “white coat syndrome” of medical treatments.
 
     I had let down my guard on the three things that I can control.  Salt intake, weight, and exercise.
 
     I love most any kind of nuts and most of them are high in salt.  I had eaten some pork that has lots of salt.  Maybe even a sausage ball or two.  Then there was the return of the cinnamon raisin biscuits at Hardee’s and my nephew’s pralines.  Not to mention a Reese’s cup.
 
     I think more than anything else it was the lack of consistent exercise that makes my heart pump.  I hadn’t swum since August.  That part wasn’t my fault.  I swam until we went to Mayo Clinic for what we thought was going to be the stem cell transplant.  We returned there for thyroid surgery and I was prohibited from immersing in water for several weeks.
 
     I got in the swim spa yesterday and I’ve laid off the salt, not to mention most of the rest of the stuff I like to eat.
 
     Keeping your guard when it comes to physical issues is a daily practice.  I had changed my lifestyle at one point, only to revert back to the old way.   A higher than what I wanted to see on the blood pressure machine was enough to get me back on track.
 
     Wouldn’t it be a great thing if there was a machine that would measure our spiritual heart?  Put on the cuff, pump up the machine, and look at the result.
 
     Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
 
     In Mark 13:33 Jesus commands us to “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.”
 
     Paul admonishes the believers at Corinth to “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
 
     Lots of things can get us off track spiritually.  Some significant event has that potential, just like surgery got me off track from exercising.  It may not be something sinful, but at some point we must recover from it.
 
     Most of the time we get off track when we simply let our guard down.  That, too, may not be from something sinful.  We can simply lose our focus.  Then again, some tempting spiritual pleasure may come along like that cinnamon raisin biscuit!  Or worse.
 
     With God’s help we may change our lifestyle at some point, only to revert back to the old way if we let down our guard.  
 
     There isn’t a machine that measures our spiritual heart, but there is that still small whisper of the Holy Spirit who does speak.  His voice may not be as concrete as the blood pressure machine.  I wish it was. 
 
     Yet, His voice can be heard and our spiritual sensitivity be known.
 
     Lord, help me guard my heart today.  I know I am in a battle.  I can’t let my guard down, even for a day.  Or even for a moment.