Since man is central to God’s programme on earth, then his heart (which is central to his life) is God’s ‘base of operations’. Jesus put it this way : “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”” (Jn 7:38). What exactly is humanity’s basic need? Have you ever wondered what the sea of humanity around you basically needs? It is important to get the answer to the questions above right. A wrong conception of what this need is has led several well-meaning but misguided people to offer varied superficial ineffective solutions to a deep-rooted and age-old need.      
    The Biblical account of the woman by Jacob’s well in Samaria illustrates this point because, in some way, it plumbs the depth of human depravity, in  general. By her admission, when Jesus pointed it out, she had had five husbands and the man she was living with was not her husband. There must  be something she was looking for, that had led to her having had five husbands and living with the sixth man, to whom she was not married. What could she have lacked so much as to be willing to change husbands five times? The answer is in what Jesus offered her : “…He would have given you living water.””…. springing up into everlasting life.”” (Jn 4:10,14). Eternal life is the fundamental need of humanity. That woman, though unaware of it at that time, sought  eternal life in the wrong places—men and relationships. As is  the case with the general human population, her immoral life, was only symptomatic of a much  deeper problem: an emptiness she felt within herself.   However, when she encountered Jesus—eternal life personified—her need was met and her life was transformed. That was not all, she became a vessel for transmitting that life to other people. 
    Living waters come from the heart, not the head. The Bible says, “…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”” (Jn 7:38). Your heart, if yielded to the HolySpirit, is the sanctuary from which the life of God, like rivers, flows to humanity. Mankind’s only hope of experiencing the life of God on earth is the availability of a man or woman whose heart, in relation to God, is in the proper condition. Once this is the case, God’s search for “…a man among them…” (Ezekiel  22:30) is successful. This lends credence to the axiom that : without God, man cannot and without man, God will not. It is this combination of divine and human elements that constitutes the outflow of life that enriches mankind and  arouses people’s  interest in God. For,  “… where the river flows everything will live.” (Ezekiel  47:9 NIV).
    What then is the proper condition of the human heart? It is that of absolute trust in the Lord (Prov 3:5), resulting from its having been yielded to the HolySpirit. God wants the totality of your heart to rest in confidence on Him. This is the kind of heart that receives and responds to God’s word with obedience—a posture which Jesus says is the condition for experiencing His manifestation (Jn 14:21). This is what God yearns for in a man or woman and expresses in the following words : “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him….” (2Ch 16:9). Only people who trust in God with all their hearts are pliable in His hands. How, then, do we guard our hearts so as not to fit the following description? “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.” (Jer 17:5,6).
        We should remember that the Bible says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:21). Your heart (the seat of your deepest affections) follows whatever you treasure. This implies that to guard your heart is to mind what you treasure.  Your treasure is anything you greatly value. What you greatly value or hold precious will eventually determine the condition of your heart. How do you determine what your treasure is? The following points will help you find out. The first is how you use your time. Whatever takes the best part of your time and a significantly large portion of it  is a treasure to you. The second is where or in what you invest the best and most of your energy. Whatever you voluntarily expend much of your strength on is something you treasure. The third index is what you spend or invest a significant percentage of your  financial resources (money) in order to have or maintain. However, in as much as these indicators  reveal what you are willing to either acquire or preserve at considerable costs in time, energy and money, they do not necessarily constitute what primarily informs your decision to treasure something. What does? Your attention.
    Just after saying that the heart follows a person’s treasure, Jesus said, ““The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.” (Matt 6:22). The eye is one of the five senses of the human body. Alongside the other four, the eye is a medium of giving attention and, consequently, receiving information or input. However, it is the eyes and the ears that dominate in this role. Simply put, your eyes and ears are the primary gateways to your heart. Whatever you give your sustained attention through these senses ultimately gain entry into your heart. It has been said that what you give your attention gives you direction. Our first mother, Eve is a case in point. She let her eyes fix her attention on the forbidden fruit, until what she once knew would lead to her death, became good for food, pleasant to the eyes and desirable to make one wise (Gen 3:6). In essence, she began to treasure the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.     
    Consequently, to guard our hearts requires that we carefully follow what the following texts of Scripture instructs: “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.” (Prov 4:20-22); “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” (Ps 105:4); “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2). Then we will say with the Psalmist : “I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”” (Ps 40:8 NLT). Shalom.