Heart Trash: 4 steps to keeping your heart trouble-free.

I think I made a mistake.

I think I might have made a mistake! Maybe we should be calling this blog series “Heart Trash” instead of “Head Trash.” What we refer to as the “mind” is referred to in Old Testament Hebrew as the “heart.” A lot of times we talk about “heart” issues in the same ways we talk about our heads or minds. Head trash can be heart trash and vice versa, so I guess we’re not too far off with our series title. Here’s a great passage concerning our hearts:

My son [child], 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.  Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:20–23

Your highest priority.

Your highest priority in life is to guard your heart.

The writer of Proverbs tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart.” There is no higher priority if you want to have a healthy heart and life, if you want peace of mind, peace with God, peace in your relationships.

My personal tendency is to look for exceptions to such an emphatic statement. Surely there are other, higher priorities than guarding my heart. What about the Great Commandments? The greatest commandments according to Jesus are to love God with all we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves. But if you think about it, you’ll probably conclude that we can’t do that if our hearts and minds aren’t right!

We want to guard against anything that keeps us from knowing and loving God and others! That’s a battle that takes place in your heart and mind.

Guard your heart.

What does it mean to guard your heart? It means not letting the lies of the devil, or the hurtful things people have said about you, or done to you, to take root and grow in your heart. It means keeping stuff out of your heart that shouldn’t be there. It also entails making some decisions about what we invite into our hearts. Guarding our hearts means refusing to entertain evil thoughts, refusing to be dominated by out-of-control desires.

Everything in life depends on guarding your heart!

Everything you do flows from your heart. The Bible verse literally means, “out of it flow the springs of life.” This includes your love for God, your love for others, your love for your neighbors, even the proper self-care you need to exercise for a balanced life. We are conditioned by society to think that everything in life flows from our looks, our likability, our power, or our prestige. The reality is that life flows from the heart. Pay attention to your heart!

You have the power.

You have the capacity to guard your own heart. You might be thinking: “I don’t have any control at all! I’m overwhelmed by my feelings, by my head trash,” or, “I’m overwhelmed by the troubles I’m facing.”

Let’s think about Jesus’ disciples. They have left everything to follow Jesus. They have left their businesses, their homes, their families, to follow Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, back and forth, and around the country, and now, after three years, Jesus says, “Sorry, guys. I’m leaving in the worst way possible! I’m going to be put to death by the authorities you thought I was going to overthrow, and then I’m out of here.” 

What does Jesus say to his disciples as he makes this clear? Among other things, Jesus says this: “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” The disciples have the power to keep their hearts from being troubled. Jesus doesn’t ask them to do something they are powerless to do.

You have the same power in all your troubles. Trouble will come. Do not let it trouble your hearts. Do not let trouble dump its trash in your head.

The very things the disciples had to do in their most difficult hour will help us.

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.  Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. “All this I have spoken while still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.  I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you will believe.  I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,  but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.” John 14:23–31.

Vanquishing fear and keeping our hearts free from trouble is not easy. When do you tell someone not to be afraid? When thereʻs something there that would naturally make them afraid! You are not limited to what is natural for human beings, though. The above passage suggests four steps to keeping your heart trouble free.

Step 1: Own your own heart.

Own your heart. Own it! “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Above all, guard your heart. We are responsible for the contents of our hearts. No one else is responsible. He may have broken your heart, but it’s still your heart. My wife may have stolen my heart, but it’s still my heart. I’m responsible for what’s in it. They may know how to push your buttons, but you are still responsible for your buttons! I heard a preacher say, “If I can get your goat, it proves you’ve got a goat to get!” We can’t blame the goat.

Jesus pointed out in Luke 6:45 that what comes from our hearts is either good or it’s evil.

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.

We have a choice: good or evil. We get concerned with gray areas, but the gray areas aren’t the areas giving you the most trouble. It’s the things you already know are wrong, but you entertain them, let them into your hearts and minds, anyway. Own your own heart and, above all, guard it.

Step 2: Set your heart and mind to love and obey Jesus.

Set your heart and mind to love and obey Jesus. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey” (John 14:23). The greatest commandment is to love God, and that’s a key to guarding your heart.  Your heart and mind won’t be at peace without this. We canʻt live in rebellion against God and think we will be at peace. We canʻt be out of harmony with our Creator, with our Savior, and be at peace. In setting your heart to love and obey God, your focus is not on obedience first; the focus is on growing in the foundation of your love life with God. Your obedience will flow out of that.

We canʻt just apply good psychology apart from loving God. I absolutely believe that good psychology will not contradict what the Bible teaches about the nature of humanity or the nature of God. Good psychology can be of great help. If you need counseling, by all means, get counseling. But you are more than an emotional being. You are spiritual, created to be in a relationship with God, and we canʻt ignore that aspect of our nature and think our minds, heads, and hearts will be okay. Love God.

Step 3: Own it, but don’t own it alone.

Own it, but don’t own it alone. We can’t really love and obey God without some help. Fortunately, through faith in Christ we have the Holy Spirit. He is here to teach us all things. He does not remind us in the same way as the original apostles, but he does remind us.

If we will read the Bible regularly and learn to let it speak to us, the Holy Spirit will remind us of what we have heard Scriptures say. This does not work just by someone giving you a verse out of context or going to the Bible just when you’re in trouble. 

Of course, if you’re in trouble please go to God and the Bible, even if that hasn’t been a part of your life. But for us to really guard our hearts, we do best when we have learned how to let God work within us over time. You alone have the power to decide what goes into and comes out of your heart, but you don’t have to decide alone. Let God help you.

Step 4: Fight for it.

Fight for it. Fight for your heart. Don’t concede the territory of your heart to the enemy of your soul. Jesus said that the “prince of this world,” referring to the devil, was coming for him. The devil is against you, too. The Bible affirms that we are all in a real spiritual battle. But Jesus says about the devil, “he has no hold on me.” The great news is that when we are walking with Jesus, the devil has no hold on us, either. Stand your ground.

Above all else, guard your heart for from it flow the springs of life. Trust God for the peace and freedom that can only be found when our hearts belong to him. Let him fill you with his goodness, and good will flow in a way that will not only refresh your own soul will be a source of life for others around you.

Notes:

Ready to beat your inner blame and shame? Check out other posts in the Head Trash series here.

Photo by Aung Soe Min on Unsplash.