Verse of the Day for August 6

When plans change, we look outward. The visa refused, the contract cancelled, the wedding postponed. We study the circumstances, which is natural. Proverbs points us to a different place.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. The issues are the outflows, the springs. Whatever life comes out of you will come from the heart, not from the plan.

Plans are things you hold. The heart is something you keep, the way a watchman keeps a gate. You can lose a plan in one phone call. You can lose a heart slowly, through bitterness that is allowed in a little each night.

Notice what comes straight after: Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. The heart and the mouth sit side by side. When things fall apart, the mouth is often the first sign of what the heart has let in. Complaint becomes cynicism, and cynicism becomes a way of talking about God.

If your plans changed this week, grieve them honestly. Then guard the gate. Watch what you say about it at the dinner table, because the children are listening and so is your own soul.

You may not control what changed, but you can keep watch over what it does to you.

Listen to your own words today. They will tell you how the gate is holding.