Proverbs 16:32

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

Devotional Thoughts

By Gary Wilkerson

Isn’t that interesting? We want to give our life to the Gospel and to the mission field but unless we mature and grow and feed our own heart and soul, then taking a city is going to be just that — taking a city. And there will be a city full of miserable, frustrated, discouraged, depressed people.

Taking a city for the kingdom of God actually means having a heart so full of the joy of the Lord that we are moved to the next direction. So this means we must tend our own heart, watch and manage “our own city.”

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

Do you see what it says here? All the things of life flow from the heart. Most of us as believers strive to get these things but they have already been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Peter says that Jesus “has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

We teach that the New Covenant of the cross of Jesus Christ is a finished work. All the peace and joy he is ever going to give you has already been given to you.

When you’re in pain and feel depressed and discouraged, you say that you don’t want to feel these things. But when you shut down the bad parts of your heart, the painful parts, you also shut down the good parts.

So keep your heart open and ask the Holy Spirit to help you deal with the pain in your life. Don’t run from it. Don’t hide from it. Tend your own vineyard — deal with the issues. But remember, all this takes time, so don’t become impatient as you allow the Holy Spirit to do his work.