Don't Let Your Guard Down

Credit: Melody Jacobs

I had a dream that I was house sitting for a relative. As I was home alone, I heard unknown voices getting closer and closer to the house. I ran to the door only to realize I could not properly secure the door because to my surprise, the locks were broken. I confronted one pair of intruders who were trying to enter through the back door. Very stern, confident and with bold faith, I was able to deter them from entering. However, there were another pair of intruders who slipped through the front door and up the stairs. This confrontation was more challenging, they were determined to stay and get comfortable. Right as it led to an altercation, I woke up. The dream seemed laden with messages so I immediately asked God for clarity. As I replayed the scenarios, I came up with a few themes to delve into. Flow with me here.

Home is Where The Heart Is

One of the first thoughts that came to mind were the similarities between a heart and home. What do hearts and homes have in common? It’s where we live. They are shelters of protection and dwelling of our most personal space. They are of high value, hold our most valuable memories and possessions; and everyone doesn’t have access to come in without permission.This symmetry between the heart and the home, in context of my dream, is the thematic foundation (and warning) for what I believe God wants me to understand.

Trespassing

The definition of trespassing is an offense that crosses the line and goes beyond boundaries. The intruders were women who tried to intimidate me, discredit and invalidate my right to the property and essentially take over the house. If I can be transparent, the trespassers aren’t about other women and the circles I keep, it’s about me. Their voice eerily echoes my own thoughts of unworthiness, doubt, and feelings of unpreparedness. How often are we led by our own thoughts and words to the side of unbelief. Sometimes there are big moments, but more often there are many small moments, disappointments, comparisons, failures, that gets us completely overwhelmed and down a rabbit hole. Little by little, we tout ourselves away from our faith walk with negative thoughts that trespass into the corridors of our hearts.

Unguarded Doors

Multiple entryways to the house were compromised. The broken locks failed to properly secure the property and possessions inside. Doors have a history to symbolize transition from one place to the next, like past to the future. Yet, if there is a blockade in the way of the door, this transition can be thwarted. Secure and guarded doors keeps what is good inside, and what is harmful away from that which is good. Had the doors been locked and secured, the trespassers would have had no recourse to intrude in. Guarding the doors to our heart means to also guard our thoughts. Our hearts are fed by our thoughts and becomes the declarations we speak out of our mouth.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. - Proverbs 4:23

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. - Matthew 12:34

The past few months, I’ve been trying to keep pace with God concerning the next future chapters in my life. My thoughts have been up and down, not feeling like I was enough to get there, or what if I misinterpreted what God said. But, we can’t let our guards down when the promise seems so far down the road. Regardless if it’s ourselves or someone else, the enemy wants to pull us away from the path of promise. Especially now that we are all more aware and sensitive to the somberness our surroundings, we cannot allow our faith to fall in limbo. It’s time to examine the locks and fortify the guards securing the promise God placed in our hearts.