Whenever you get in your car, you’re usually getting in there for a reason; you’re getting in your car because you have somewhere to go. Whatever that destination may be, you are not guaranteed to get there – at least not without the proper precautions. If you were to be blindfolded while attempting to drive the car to your destination there is a strong possibility that you won’t make it very far. Driving takes a lot of focus and a lot of our attention. We need to be able to see so that we can be aware of things around us as well as things that we may encounter while driving to our destination. I remember when I was taking drivers education I heard over and over again the phrase “keep your eyes on the road.” These six words represent one of the most important concepts you will need when operating a vehicle. You need to watch what is in front of you, what is next to you, and what is behind you. You look behind you when backing up to make sure there is nothing you can run into. You also look behind you to be aware of who is behind you and how close they are. You watch for what’s next to you and be sure the person driving that car is not running you off the road and that you don’t accidently run that person off the road yourself. You want to be aware of what is next to you at all times. You keep an eye out for what is going on in front of you to know what you’re next move is. When you see brake lights or a stop light you need to be prepared to stop. When you are approaching a yellow traffic light you need to proceed with caution and begin to slow down. You cannot do all of these things with a blindfold on, if you tried it is very unlikely that you would make it to your destination. One of the most dangerous things you could do behind the wheel of a car is to lose focus of your surroundings or to fall asleep at the wheel. If something distracts you and your focus is compromised you could miss the brake lights in front of you and slam into the back of another vehicle. If you fall asleep at the wheel, there is a disaster waiting to happen. It is very likely that you won’t wake up until you have already hit something and damage is done.

I believe the girls of this generation are falling asleep at the wheel of their hearts.

The girls in this generation have lost focus and have failed to keep their eyes on the road. They are not aware of their surroundings and before they are able to realize what is happening someone or something has taken them out. Then they are left with the damage of a broken heart, and the hopelessness of it ever being put back together.

Why are the girls of this generation fallings asleep at the wheel? Because the “lullaby of this world is slowly rocking them to sleep;”* they have lost the fight and the will to stay awake and as they drift off to sleep their heart begins to be placed in a vulnerable state. There are too many distractions that are compromising their focus, too many things that are buying for their attention, and then before they know it their guard they placed on their heart is no longer there. They fell asleep at the wheel and forgot to keep their eyes on the road.

Proverbs 4:23 says this in the Message version;

“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.”

I decided to bring clarity to this verse by researching it a little more. I first wanted to understand what it meant to “watch” over our hearts. So I looked up the definition of watch and this is what stood out to me: “to keep awake – especially for a purpose; remain vigilant, as for protection or safekeeping; to be alertly on the lookout, look attentively, or observe, as to see what comes, is done, or happens.” We need to keep awake, not just to stay awake, but there is a purpose. We need to stay awake to protect and keep our hearts safe, to look attentively at what is happening and what is coming. Another word that stood out to me is “vigilant” – it is in the verse as well as in the definition of watch. Vigilant means “to be watchful” which we pretty much got from the definition of watch, but what stood out to me was not the word itself, but the synonyms. “Wide-awake” and “sleepless” are both synonyms of vigilant. We are not just supposed to be awake, but we are supposed to be wide-awake. Being awake isn’t enough; sometimes you can be awake but not be fully aware of what is going on around you. You may be sleepy and that can cause you to not be as alert as you should be – it can cause you to miss something and possibly lead to destruction.

In life, we need to be fully awake, we need to be sleepless, and we need to watch attentively with purpose, our purpose, to guard our hearts. We cannot allow ourselves to fall asleep and miss what is approaching; we want to be aware of what is happening right before us. We need to recognize the “stop lights” in our life, as well as when we need to slow down and proceed with caution. And if we are not focusing on guarding our hearts, we fail to stay awake at the wheel.

How do we guard our hearts?
We spend time in relationship with God. The more time that we spend with Him, the more sensitive we are to what He is speaking to us as well as where He is directing us. The more time you spend with God the more of His character you will discover. The more you understand who God is, the more you will realize His heart and His desires for you. The more you begin to realize these things, the more apt you are to recognize the yellow and red stoplights you will encounter in life. If you are sensitive to His voice then you will hear His directions as they guide you in your life. You guard you heart by monitoring what is coming in. What voice is speaking loudest in your life? Are you allowing the things of this world to cloud your vision and blindfold you so you are unaware of where you are going? Or are you allowing God to help you guard your heart, allowing Him to direct you? It’s not as hard as we make it out to be, guarding our heart is not something that we need training on. All we need is discipline, we need to focus on God, and protect what we allow into our lives, be alert at all times watching out for the stoplights that God provides for us. If you are spending time with Him, you will know how to recognize them.

Be aware of your worst enemy; yourself. So many times we don’t listen to those stoplights we’re approaching and we speed right through them. We allow our desire, our wants, and our pride to convince us that we know what our destination is and where we want to go. We ignore the call to guard our hearts and little by little we keep running through the stoplights until we have self destructed. The more we cover up the voice of God, the more we ignore those stoplights, the harder they get to hear. We let our guard down and before we know it damage has been done.

(*Quote from Candace Brice).