Sentinel

Sentinel


Reflections by the Sea © Betsy Ore Glass
January 12, 2011

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. - Proverbs 4:23

There are many sentinels protecting the Outer Banks. I am speaking of the beautiful, historic lighthouses that have stood guard over the barrier islands for many years. The dictionary defines a sentinel as “a person or thing that stands and watches”. And the lighthouses certainly do just that. They watch the land and the sea. Each lighthouse is individual and unique yet they are similar in shape. I have enjoyed visiting them all and taking photographs from different angels. They are truly historic treasures and have become tourist attractions over the years. The sight of light from a lighthouse in the night sky still thrills me today like it did was I was a young child. A sentinel is thought of as a guiding light but that doesn’t just apply to a lighthouse.

God watches over us like a sentinel, too. He guides us all the time and He is there through trials and hardships, too. His light shines on us to light the way, both night and day. A sentinel guards and guides. We can look to God to be that for us. But we too have a responsibility to guard our lives. As we follow Him, we are to guard ourselves with our thoughts and actions, keeping them of pure motive and godly at all times. What lies deep within us is what springs forth and becomes how we are defined. If we are full of stress, it will show. If we give in to anger or strife, it will flow out of us to another. It is so amazing to realize our physical hearts are so sensitive to emotions. Doctors have long said it is not the situation we find ourselves in, but how we handle it that matters.

What will matter this week? Guarding our thoughts, binding stress, filtering what we let in to our hearts and keeping His guiding light before us with each step we take. A good way to shine the light on this New Year is to let Him be our sentinel, our guide, our light in everything.