What we put into our heart, comes out. It’s the production centre of our lives, which is why guarding your heart is so important.

Proverbs 4:23 NKJV says:

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

Another version (TPT), says it this way:

So above all, guard the affections of your heart,
for they affect all that you are.
Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being,
for from there flows the wellspring of life.

You are the doorkeeper of your heart and in charge of what you allow to penetrate it. No one else is responsible for that. In fact, it’s important that you give careful and persistent attention to all that’s going on in your heart.

If out of our heart flow the issues of life, it can mean that we’re potentially allowing good things to flow into it, or evil things. What we feed our hearts will come out.

Luke 6:45 NKJV says,

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Why Is Guarding Your Heart Important?

There’s so much that goes on in life.

We’re bombarded by social media suggesting how we should look, what we should be, and that we’re not good enough or have enough in some capacity. Or there’s challenges we’re facing or could face in our health, finances, marriage, or relationships.

The enemy wants to attack every part of our being, bringing about fear, stress, worry and anxiety. The enemy’s goal is to steal, kill and destroy. The purpose of this is so that we question who God really is and begin to doubt who He is to us personally.

This world also offers many things, including peace, but it can never satisfy us. It brings a temporary feeling of safety and security wrapping all the things we think we want in a beautiful, enticing package. And when we give into the tactics of this world and the lies of the enemy, our hearts can become distant toward God.

So then, with all is faced, this is why guarding your heart is so important.

How Do We Guard Our Hearts?

To guard our hearts, we all need discernment on what to allow or not allow into our lives. Not all good things are right things for us, so we need to be mindful of what we fill ourselves with.

In Philippians 4:4-7 NKJV it says,

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Here we find that the Bible says we should be anxious for nothing. In other words, anxiety might come, but it’s what we do with it matters.

The next line says in Philippians 4 says what we should do not only with anxiety, but in everything. We are to let our requests be made known to God by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. We are to roll over what we can’t do on our own, over to the Lord.

As we do that – as we release our anxiety (the unknowns, the what-ifs, the uncertainty in life that we can’t control or do anything about) and make them known to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, the peace of God, which surpasses human perspective, reasoning and thought, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

30-Day Guard Your Heart Scripture Challenge Printable

Reminding ourselves of what God says about our hearts helps us to see that protecting it is crucial.

Be sure to grab the free 30-Day Guard Your Heart Scripture Challenge Printable below!

Don’t let anything have your heart — you’re too precious to allow just anything to fill it. You need to know why guarding your heart is so important and what to fill it with.

Anchored in Christ,
Melanie