‘For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks’ Matthew 12:34 (NKJV)
How do you know what is going on deep inside someone’s heart? The only way to find out is by letting them talk, and by listening well. The Bible teaches that the heart of natural man is treacherous, but through His Ruach, He will renew your heart and help them to seek after Him and His ways: ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh’ (Ezekiel 36:26). The heart is a deep well. You must always guard it, because out of it flow the issues of life. The Bible warns you to, ‘Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life’ (Proverbs 4:23). The New Living translation puts it this way: ‘Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life’. The wisdom of Yehovah is also revealed to the heart, rather than the head. Biblical wisdom is not primarily an issue of how many brain cells you possess, or how intelligent you are but is an issue of a right heart attitude. Whatever is filling and firing your heart is eventually going to exit from your mouth in words. This can be either positive or negative! Your words reveal your heart, particularly when you are caught off guard, or when you are tired. Saint Francis of Sales said, ‘our words are a faithful index of the state of our souls’. What are you full of? What are you carrying in your heart? It will be revealed in your words and the spirit of your conversations.