How Do I Guard My Heart?
May 21, 2025
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Luke 6:45 NIV
We occasionally will say or do things that don’t go well, hurt others, or reflect very poorly on our character. We often will try to deflect or smooth things over by saying, “I didn’t really mean that,” “I don’t know what got into me,” or “That’s not me – I was having a bad day.” According to Jesus, the One who created us and knows us best, that’s not true. We said it and we did it because it was in our heart. What’s inside of you will eventually come out.
Since that is true, guarding our heart must be an ongoing lifestyle. How do we do that?
Cultivate humility. James 4:6 NLT tells us, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” No one wants to live in opposition to God. We want and need Him to be able to be with us. Humility is the way – not blaming, standing for our “rights,” or “making a point.” Humility attracts Him to us with His wisdom, clarity, and strength.
Embrace a lifestyle of repentance. Daily ask God to show you anywhere, any way you have been unwise, thoughtless, self-centered – any place in your day you have loved less than like Jesus. Make no excuses, but repent (change your mind) and agree with God to eliminate that behavior from your life. Ask quick forgiveness from the one you have wronged.
Be aware of your Enemy. “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT). You have a ruthless Enemy who wants to destroy your life. You can’t afford to take him lightly. The word “guard” as used in Proverbs 4:23 means to pay diligent attention to as do soldiers on a walled city. They carefully monitor who and what comes in and goes out. You and I must be very intentional with what we allow to come into our minds and lives. Movies, TV shows, books, music, the people with whom we spend our time, the personal thoughts we allow our mind to harbor like anger, bitterness, resentment, pride, envy – these may be small but potent weapons of destruction in our hearts. We must ruthlessly hunt them down and remove them.
Intentionally cultivate the positive and good. Philippians 4:8 urges us to meditate on everything that is good, positive, lovely, just, and noble. Proactively filling our mind with these thoughts pushes out the negative.
Pay special attention to your words. James 3 tells us that our tongues can be set on fire by hell and destroy the whole course of our lives. Unguarded words have burned many a relationship down. Guarding our hearts and our words go hand in hand.
- If you don’t take care of your heart, who will? What will you do today to monitor what is coming in and going out of your heart? That’s what’s driving your future. Honestly talk to God about it.