Key 6 - Learn to Guard Your Heart

Once we have identified and stopped the action or behavior that wounded us, the next step is learning to guard our heart from further damage. This is necessary so that our wound can actually heal. Remember that God's Word teaches us that the "most important" thing we need to do is guard our hearts. "Above all else, guard your heart" (Proverbs 4:23). This tells me two things. First, there are people and things in our world that will damage our hearts if we let them. Second, guarding our heart may not come naturally to us. If it was an automatic instinct that was important to us, we would not have to be told to do it. If we did it naturally, God would not put a priority on it by saying that we should protect our heart "above all else."

It's not realistic that we go through life with no pain or disappointments, but I think that we go through a lot more than we need to. Would you rather learn from a little pain or go through a great deal of pain? We do have a choice. Wounded Heart p. 67

It is amazing how much people fight changing or don't even know that our lives could be different, could be better. We often accept our current reality as just how things are. As I write this, I am thinking of a successful businessman who carries around low self-esteem even though he is successful in so many ways. I think of young adults who define themselves by the past, teens who have their whole lives in front of them but look to the future in despair.

Sometimes we have to guard our hearts in the present, sometimes we have to guard them from the past. We have to understand that today is a new day and yesterday's pain, mistakes or bad situation are in the past. Moving forward means letting go of pain, hurt and disappointment either caused by ourselves or others. We must guard our hearts from reliving and rehearsing these real and painful memories.

Guarding our heart is a present tense action that needs to take place every day.

Prayer: Lord, help me to guard my heart. Teach me to avoid people and situations that will hurt me. Help me to let go and not to relive the pain of yesterday so that I can move forward today. I pray this in Jesus name - Amen!