Guarding Your Heart
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Proverbs 4: 23 *all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted
When you think of guarding your heart, what comes to your mind? Maybe it’s protection, like keeping negative influences out and setting healthy boundaries in your relationships for emotional health. For others, it brings to mind spiritual focus, staying close to God through prayer and Scripture in order to protect your heart, choosing carefully what you watch, read, or listen to so your mind stays focused on what honors God.
The human heart is a powerful, life-sustaining muscle, beating over 100,000 times a day to pump blood and oxygen throughout our bodies. A healthy heart is essential for overall health and well-being. We’re often reminded to care for it physically, eat healthy, exercise, and manage stress, because when the heart fails, the rest of the body suffers.
Just as our physical heart needs protection and intentional care, so does our spiritual heart. Scripture teaches us that everything we do flows from it, our words, our thoughts, and our decisions. A healthy spiritual heart doesn’t just happen; it’s shaped by what we consume, how we respond, and who we trust. When we guard our hearts with God’s Word, filter our thoughts through His truth, and let His peace rule within us, we’re not only protecting our inner life, we’re positioning ourselves to flourish in faith, love, and purpose.
Protect Your Heart
“My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.”
Proverbs 4: 20-22
When you really want your child to pay attention to what you are saying, what do you do? You may speak louder to let her know you mean business. You may say her full name to say you really grab her attention! In this passage of scripture, Solomon mentions the heart twice and is speaking as a father to a son. He is saying, “Pay attention to what I am saying,” or “Listen to me!” He is trying to give good and wise instruction for the son’s total well-being.
There is a story by a christian author named John Bunyan. He describes a town called Mansoul. In the center of the town is the Heart Castle. The town has a wall around it for protection with 5 gates. The gates are the Ear Gate, Eye Gate, Nose Gate, Mouth Gate and Feel Gate. Each of the gates has a road that goes straight to Heart Castle. We have to be careful about opening those gates and what we let through to our heart.
We must be careful not only about what we listen to, but also who we allow to influence us. Music, conversations, and even friendships can become voices of gossip, negativity, or false teaching that quietly slip in and take root in our hearts.
The same is true for our eyes. What we choose to look at stirs our desires, sometimes toward comparison, materialism, or temptation. That’s why Scripture urges us to set our eyes on things above and not on earthly distractions.
Even our sense of smell carries a lesson. Just as certain aromas linger long after they’re gone, the environments we spend time in and the “air” we breathe, our attitudes, influences, and company, can shape our hearts for better or for worse. Letting our lives be a sweet fragrance to the Lord is what pleases Him.
The mouth is another gate we must guard carefully. Our words carry great weight; Proverbs says the tongue has the power of life and death. Every word that passes through this gate either builds up or tears down, so we must be intentional about speaking life.
And finally, even though our feelings are real, they should never be the rulers of our lives. Left unguarded, emotions can fling wide the gate to fear, bitterness, or sinful desires.
“Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
Proverbs 4: 24-27
These warnings are not to rob us of pleasure, but to give us safe boundaries for enjoying life. When you are driving over a bridge or a curvy mountain road, do you feel safer when you see a guardrail on the edge? Solomon is trying to give us guardrails for our life; guardrails to direct behavior, to keep us from straying, from going over the edge and getting too close to something that might hurt or harm the soul.
When we fix our eyes straight ahead on Christ, on His truth, His character, and His ways, we are less likely to drift, less tempted to chase distractions, and better equipped to guard our hearts from the lies and influences that want to pull us off course. Solomon knew that the heart is the control center of our being. That’s why he urges us to guard it with all diligence—because what captures your heart will ultimately shape your life.
Purify Your Heart
“Is it hard to understand that whatever you eat enters the stomach only to pass out into the sewer? But what comes out of your mouth reveals the core of your heart. Words can pollute, not food. You will find living within an impure heart evil ideas, murderous thoughts, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, lies, and slander. That’s what pollutes a person. Eating with unwashed hands doesn’t defile anyone.”
Matthew 15: 18-20 TPT
In this passage of scripture, Jesus is answering the question about a parable He just told about unclean eating. Jesus' response pointed to the fact that it wasn’t the hands or the food that was unclean, but the heart of man. We work hard to keep our outward appearance attractive, but what is in our hearts is even more important. The way we are deep down, where others cannot see, matters much to God. That is why we must purify our hearts before Him.
What does it look like to purify ourselves? Purify means to make something clean by pulling contaminants from it, to filter out impurities. The best example of this is the purifying of gold. In ancient times, the process of refining raw gold ore into purified gold involved a three step process; crushing, melting and skimming.
First the ore is crushed to separate the gold from the surrounding materials. God’s chosen “ore,” meaning us, has an excessive amount of undesirable elements, or “dross,” in it. The first step in the refining process illustrates the humbling that we must undergo before God can begin to do a great work in us. We have to crush pride, vanity, selfishness, ego, and all the other things that are impurities in our heart. This is not a one time event, it is ongoing and constant.
Next, the crushed gold ore is melted at high temperatures, 1,948 degrees Fahrenheit (1,064 degrees Celsius) so that the ore will melt. Once the gold ore melts, the impurities in the gold begin to rise to the top. This step in the process can look like the fiery trials Christians face, often very unpleasant. Yet just as the fire reveals and removes impurities from the gold, our trials expose and burn away the things in us that don’t reflect Christ. How many times? As many as it takes! The refining fire isn’t meant to destroy us but to transform us, leaving us stronger, purer, and more radiant for God’s glory.
Finally, the dross is skimmed off the top by the refiner. We will face many trials in our lives and each time, we must remember that, no matter how difficult or painful it becomes, we have our Refiner’s full assurance, God’s assurance, that He will not allow a trial to become more that we can handle and that He will deliver from it.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
Just as the refiner purifies gold, God’s work in our hearts is a process, one that takes time, patience, and trust. When we allow God to refine us, our hearts are cleansed, our words are filled with life, and our lives become a testimony of His faithfulness. The journey may not be easy, but the treasure that emerges—a heart fully surrendered to Christ—is priceless and eternal.
Position Your Heart
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seem in me - put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4: 4-9
When you are straining to see something at a distance more clearly, you may grab a pair or binoculars or use the zoom effect on your camera or phone. You have to position it just right to get the clarity you desire. Once positioned perfectly, you have complete clarity. The same goes for our relationship with Christ.
Positioning our hearts takes intentionality. We are encouraged to position our hearts in such a way that we bring into clarity, by our words and actions, things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. We are to fix our minds on these things and act in a way that examples these things.
Paul urges us to not be anxious about anything, but instead, to bring everything before God with thanksgiving. As we do this, something supernatural happens: the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This peace doesn’t come from our circumstances changing; it comes from changing our posture before the Lord.
So how do we maintain that posture? We practice. Verse 9 says, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice.” Positioning our hearts means not just knowing the truth but living it out daily. It's the discipline of choosing joy, practicing gratitude, and filling our minds with things that reflect God’s character. When we live this way, we aren't just guarding our hearts from what might pull us away, we’re guiding them toward what draws us closer to Christ. Peace becomes both our protection and our position.
Prayer
As you spend time with the Lord this week, reflect on these prayer prompts and ask these questions. Take time to hear Him speak to your heart.
Lord, show me the places where I’ve left my heart unguarded. Help me set healthy boundaries and close the gates that allow harmful influences into my life.
Father, refine me like gold. Reveal any attitudes, words, or desires that don’t reflect You, and skim them away so my heart may be clean before You.
Jesus, align my heart with Your peace. Teach me to fix my mind on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy so that my life reflects Your character.”
Holy Spirit, give me strength to keep practicing these things daily. Guard my heart in moments of weakness and guide me back when I drift.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Matthew 5:8
