The Wellspring of Life
By Shirley Mitchell
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
Matthew 12:33-35
“ ‘Are you still so dull?’ Jesus asked them. ‘Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' ’ ”
Matthew 15:16-20
In Matthew 12:33-35, Jesus tells us that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Our speech is reflective of our hearts. In Matthew 15:16-20, Jesus tells us that our actions come from our hearts. If we want to be women who speak and give blessings to our loved ones, coworkers, neighbors, and friends, then we must go to the source of the flow. We must go to the heart. We must realize what is going on inside our hearts. There is something bigger going on in our hearts. Why do our hearts have so much influence over us?
Proverbs 4:23 tells us that the heart is the source of life. It says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” We are commanded to guard our hearts. The Hebrew word for “guard” is natsar which means “to guard, to watch, to keep, to preserve, to guard from dangers, to guard with fidelity, to keep close.” The Hebrew word for “wellspring” is towtsa’ah which means “outgoing, border, source (of life), escape (from death).” Isn’t this fascinating? The heart is the wellspring of life. The heart is the source of our behavior because it is the source of life. Our actions, our words, and our motivations flow from their fountainhead - our hearts. Whatever is going on in the heart is ultimately expressed in our behavior. Undesired behavior can either be misbehavior (misplaced emotion that should belong to God) or legalism (lack of love for God) or a godly heart. We can’t begin to understand our behavior or another person’s behavior separate from the heart. We live out of our hearts.
A good parenting class will tell you to focus on molding your children’s heart and not merely correcting their behavior. Parents are told to shape their children’s motivations and desires in order to get the right behavior. Yes, their actions need discipline. However, a parent has to go to the next step and get the child to talk about why he or she behaved this way. Then the parent can provide wisdom in their child’s language to mold the child’s will.
I never knew until I did a word search on “heart” in my Bible software how many things the Bible tells us happen in the heart. Please read what I found:
Anguishes (Psalm 38:8)
Becomes Hard (Ex 4:21)
Believes (Mark 11:23)
Burns (Luke 24:32)
Can be Glad (Ex 4:14)
Despairs (Deuteronomy 28:65)
Discerns (Proverbs 15:14)
Falters (Isaiah 21:4)
Fears (Isaiah 35:4)
Gives (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Grieves (Genesis 6:6, 1 Samuel 2:33)
Grows Hot (Psalm 39:3)
Harbors Malice (Psalm 28:3)
Hates (Leviticus 19:17)
Instructs (Psalm 16:7)
Is Prideful (2 Chron. 32:25)
Knows (Ecclesiastes 7:22
Led Astray (Deut. 17:17)
Loves (Song of Solomon 3:1)
Lusts (Numbers 15:39)
Meditates (Psalm 19:14)
Melts (Joshua 2:11, 5:1, 7:5)
Ponders (Luke 2:19)
Prays (1 Sam 1:13)
Rejoices (1 Sam 2:1)
Remembers (Isaiah 57:11)
Repents (Romans 2:5)
Seeks God (Deut. 4:29)
Sings (Psalm 30:12)
Sinks (Genesis 42:28)
Thinks (Mark 2:8)
Troubled (John 14:1)
Turns Away (1 Kings 11:9)
Turns to (Deut 30:10)
Yearns (Jer. 31:20
Our hearts anguish. They can become hard. They burn, and the list continues. I began to look for other ways the world describes what is going on in our hearts. Over a period of two weeks, I caught these additional ways to describe our hearts:
Blackhearted - evil
Bravehearted - courageous
Brokenhearted - hurting over lost love
Heart in Pieces - hurting
Heart to Heart Talk - intimate conversation
Heartless - uncaring, not compassionate
Hearts of Gold - caring people
Lighthearted - carefree, joyful
Love Wholeheartedly - deep love
Racing Heart - excited
Wandering Heart - not loyal and bound to affection
Our language describes a person’s behavior by characterizing her heart. Do you see why the heart is the wellspring of life? Do you understand why it was your heart that raced when your first love looked at you? Your heart is the wellspring of your life. To harden the heart is to cut off one’s life. It is in our hearts that we come to know God. It is by our hearts we lead out our lives. Every action we have taken and every word we have spoken has come forth out of our hearts. If our hearts are this powerful in our lives, then we see why Scripture tells us to guard our hearts. Our lives depend upon it.
Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things.” A heart not under the control of God will deceive us. Because it involves emotions, this deception can be powerful. Our enemy knows that deception seals the bondage of a stronghold. Following your heart can lead you to destruction if your heart has believed the wisdom of the world…Do what feels good…It feels so right…Following strong emotions that betray godliness and purity will leave you with the deepest wounds. It will sear your precious heart. The only way to a life of joy, peace, freedom, and love is to let God capture your heart, redeem any hurts, and let His Spirit lead your heart. We do this by letting His Word penetrate our hearts. The more our hearts accept and respond to God’s Truth, the healthier our hearts will be.
God wants to give us the abundant life that is full of every spiritual blessing. Why does He want our hearts? He wants our every affection, every emotion, every action, every desire, and every dream - everything. He wants access to our source of life, our hearts, because He wants to fellowship with you and me. He wants us to live in the deepest fellowship with Him. He wants to be your most intimate Friend. I say, come on in!
Pray with me: Oh, Father, since all living flows out of my heart, help me to guard my wellspring of life. I give You my every affection, emotion, action, and dream. I give You access to my heart. I want to live in the deepest fellowship with You. When You see my heart, may it be like Yours. It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, I pray. Amen.
Excerpt from the Jesus Lives Bible study