Deeper Life #79

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

—Proverbs 4:23

EVERY LIFE CARRIES AN ATMOSPHERE, and this atmosphere blesses or blights.

Have we not met people who enlarge our horizons and loosen the limitations about our hearts? This happens because of the very atmosphere they produce. We seem to grow nobler and purer for having met them and being with them.

On the other hand, have we not met people who make it “winter for our souls”? They create a cold atmosphere in which we shrivel and grow small. Generous thoughts about others do not survive in their presence.

Our personal atmosphere arises from the condition of our hearts, not from our surroundings. Watch the attitudes of your heart, “for out of it are the issues of life.”

Prayer Thought: Heavenly Father, allow my life to have a positive, holy influence on others.

SUGGESTED READING: Proverbs 4:23–27