Guard Your Heart

What It Means

The Bible tells us to guard our heart very carefully. When the Bible talks about your heart here, it does not only mean the heart beating inside your chest. It means your thoughts, feelings, desires, attitudes, and choices. Think about a garden. If you want beautiful flowers to grow, you take care of the soil. You pull out weeds and make sure good seeds are planted. Our hearts are a little like that garden. When we fill our hearts with God’s Word, kindness, truth, love, thankfulness, and things that please Jesus, those good things begin to show in the way we live. But if we continually fill our minds with anger, jealousy, unkind words, or things that are not pleasing to God, those things can begin to affect our words and actions too. That is why God tells us: Guard your heart. Be careful about what you watch. Be careful about what you listen to. Be careful about the words you keep thinking about. And when something wrong enters your heart, talk to Jesus about it. Jesus can help us choose what is good. Remember What is inside our hearts often comes out through our words, choices, and actions. So let us fill our hearts with Jesus, His Word, His love, and His truth.

Think About It

Imagine someone says something unkind to you. You might feel angry inside. You could hold onto that anger and think about getting even, or you could ask Jesus: “Jesus, please help me forgive them and keep my heart kind.” Guarding your heart does not mean you will never feel sad, angry, or hurt. It means that when those feelings come, you bring them to God instead of letting them control you.

Activity

Before you watch, listen to, say, or do something today, ask yourself: “Will this help my heart grow closer to Jesus?”

Prayer

Dear Jesus, Thank You for loving me. Please help me guard my heart. Help me think about things that are true, good, and pleasing to You. When I feel angry, jealous, afraid, or hurt, help me bring those feelings to You. Fill my heart with Your love, kindness, joy, and truth so that my words and actions can show others Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.