922 The Heart Budget

What is the cost of worry? What price do you pay for negativity? What’s the fee for a little gossip and a little envy? Have you checked the price tag attached to that self-doubt? That stress is not on clearance. That drama is astronomically expensive! Everything you think, everything you say, and everything you do comes at a price. This is all costing you something. Your heart bears the burden of it all and is buried with this debt. And when your heart is buried with the debt of worry, stress, envy, negativity, drama and self-doubt, you are simply held back from living the life you were created for. Proverbs 4: 23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Has your heart been unguarded? Has it been gobbling up everything it can get on the buffet of negativity? Yes, let me watch the news that tells me all that’s wrong in the world, then let me follow that up with a mini-series on serial killers. Let me read all the posts on the hot topics and drop a few condescending snarky comments here and there and watch the drama unfold. Oh, now let’s scroll through all her photos with envy as I declare surely her life is better than mine and it’s not fair. Why can’t I look like her? Clearly I’m not good enough. Then look around at your own life with that negative filter and be satisfied with absolutely none of it! Oh you’re still sitting among piles of answered prayers, but your new jaded perspective hides it all. You’re literally dwelling in the things you once asked God for, but your unguarded heart is now ungrateful because it is overwhelmed with the price of all you’ve been buying into. Girls, it’s time to put our heart on a budget! Repeat after me: I cannot afford worry, stress, envy, negativity, drama, or self-doubt. This crap is costing me my life! The very life I was created for, the life Jesus came to die to give me, I’m spending it on complete nonsense and I’m left with a life that’s off course. Your heart determines the course of your life. This is why Jesus told us in John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be burdened.” A burdened heart is a heavy heart that drags you down and keeps you from moving forward. A burdened heart carries the load of all it has accumulated along the way. What have you been accumulating? You’ve been picking up new worries haven’t you? Every day there’s something new added to your load. You’re like a worry magnet. Boom, another worry just stuck to you. New stresses are just piled on, and your heart sinks low. That heavy, burdened heart is susceptible to the drama and falls right into it’s trap. And while you’re here, your already wounded heart comes under the attack of the enemy and you believe his lies that tell you you’re not good enough. Now you’re low, really low. That’s why our hearts must be put on a budget. The price of all of this is too much. It’s costing us all that Jesus came to give us in this life. Jesus said in John 10:10 “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” But here’s the problem, you can’t live that rich life because your heart bought up all that worry and stress. You spent all your heart’s resources on negativity. You’re not satisfied because your heart walked away with problems instead of peace, drama instead of delight, envy instead of energy, worry instead of wonder, self-doubt instead of self-worth. Girl, it’s what you’re buying! Put your heart on a budget! Look at the price of what you’re listening to and talking about. Check out the price of who you’re with and what you’re doing. Is it really worth it? NO, IT’S TOTALLY NOT WORTH IT! Nothing is worth the rich and satisfying life Jesus came to give you.