3 Ways We Can Guard Our Hearts

A heart is precious to God.

Most are easy to love but also easily broken. If we’re not careful, our tender hearts can become hardened by life. They may become bitter and even numb. Neither of those are good.

Bitterness creeps in from continuous disappointments or unmet expectations. But numbness is most often due to pain. It’s self-protection. We may not even realize we’ve lost all feeling.

A numb heart is really a hard heart. It just got that way through pain, and we didn’t intend for it to happen. But it can be healed and once again, become tender.

In Scripture, the word heart is mentioned 725 times. Most are found in Psalms. David poured out his heart when he wrote about God. I’m so thankful he did because it’s my favorite place to find solace in God’s Word.

There are many descriptive words for heart issues in Psalms: contrite, proud, anguished, cunning, callused, grieved, blameless, disloyal, and unfaithful. These are just a few but we can see from these varying types of hearts how they should be guarded.

But what exactly does that mean?

Our first instinct might be to put walls up around our heart to protect it. We think this is guarding. But it’s not protecting the way God intends. Eventually, we may discover the numbness has set in. Through our efforts to guard our heart – we’ve closed it off instead.

Building walls will not protect us. Seeking God is the only true protection. But guarding our hearts is complicated because our nature wants to keep pain away. However, God often uses pain to teach us and to draw us into a closer relationship with Him.

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

I listened to a Christian counselor recently discuss this verse. Her words brought to my attention how important it is to us as we go through our lives. The first three words in this verse are quite striking. We should guard our hearts above all else. The same advisor gave a great explanation of the heart, stating, “It’s the essence of who we are.”

Our hearts are incredibly important to God.

We may wonder how we can guard it. What does that look like?

Here are 3 ways we can guard our hearts:

1. Guard a heart by accepting truth.

It seems odd to say we can guard our hearts by accepting truth. But it’s true. Often, we believe lies and accept them as truth. This leaves our heart unguarded.

There’s a reason why romance novels are a bestselling genre. There’s always a happy ending. It’s a requirement if you want to write such a book. But that’s fantasy and not realistic. We’re never guaranteed a happily ever after and we shouldn’t live in a fantasy world regarding those we love.

Sometimes, we live in what we want to be true instead of actual truth.

They say love is blind and it's often true. We wear blinders to the behaviors of those we love. We don’t want to believe our spouse would cheat on us. We don’t want to believe our child would do anything that would get them into trouble with the law. We may idolize our family life, church life, or our marriage. Believing what we want instead of the truth.

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. Romans 1:25

When God tears down an idol and the walls of a lie come tumbling down, truth remains. God is elevated in our lives, and we see reality. It’ll probably be painful.

People will disappoint us in many ways, but God will never leave us in our times of trouble. The truth is He will be glorified when the truth is revealed because we’ll know He alone can be trusted, and He loves us more than anyone else ever will.

Our worship will be more genuine because we know Him in a better way. And trust Him in a way we never knew possible. 

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

2. Guard a heart with boundaries.

What exactly is a boundary?

Boundaries are our own safety guardrails; not walls built out of self-protection.

Think of the guardrails we see along highways; they keep us from running off the road and careening down a steep cliff.

Our boundaries are a guide for us to keep us safe – spiritually, emotionally, and possibly physically.

There’s major road construction near me on the interstate. It’s dangerous driving through the construction zone due to the improvements in progress. There are already a couple of crosses along the road where some drivers have died in car accidents. It can be confusing for drivers who are unfamiliar with the area. The lanes have been re-painted in this stretch of highway and careful attention is necessary to navigate the changes.

When we set personal boundaries, it’s similar to new lanes being painted on an interstate. Confusing for travelers but necessary for improvements. They are different for each of us. The questions are simple. What is acceptable to me? Does it align with my spiritual walk?

If something is no longer acceptable to us, then we must set a boundary.

Like the new confusing lanes of road construction near me; eventually, they’ll turn into a nice new highway, and everyone will benefit.

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13

3. Guard a heart by seeking God.

When we seek God, we’re guarding our hearts.

He is our ultimate protection. When we spend time in prayer, study, and worship, He’s glorified. We naturally want to build walls around a broken heart but surrounding ourselves with God is the best protection possible.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

The more we read the Bible and study what God has to say about things, the more the word of God becomes part of us. Literally. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our minds are renewed and when our thoughts change, our hearts do too.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Here are a few ways to know a heart is guarded:

• It’s humble and teachable.
• It’s an honest and forgiving heart.
• It’s full of compassion for others.
• It seeks God and desires His will.

If we have a few of these things churning within us, our heart is being protected.

We don’t want to let our guard down though.

Continue seeking Him with constant surrender. Put into practice what we learn from His word. He is with us. And He loves our precious hearts.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/ThitareeSarmkasat 

Melinda Eye Cooper grew up in the Missouri Ozarks but lives near Nashville, Tennessee with her family.  She writes articles and devotions and has some fiction projects in the works. Melinda grew up in a large family and is number seven of ten children. Many of her devotions and stories are inspired from her childhood.

Melinda has been honored to be a Selah Awards finalist for online articles and a finalist for the 2023 Writer of the Year Award with Serious Writer. 

Her non-fiction book “Cross My Heart” is available here. Visit her website here to receive blog posts via email. You can follow her on Facebook here or Instagram here.