How To Guard Your Heart
Do you find that you try to guard your heart from getting hurt? Maybe that’s a result of a failed relationship or from trust issues due to friends or family members. But all you know is that you don’t want to deal with that type of feeling or situation again so you intentionally, or unknowingly, put walls up. Let me start off with saying, that is not the worst thing you could do. It is good to live and learn, realizing that you can do something different on your side to watch out for your own mental health.
But you need to consider what will happen when you find you actually have to let your guard down a bit to let someone in. Notice I didn’t say for your guard to come all the way down at first. However, it helps to let your guard down enough to see if you can trust another person with something small. It may be nerve-racking, but you will find that if you don’t learn to do that, it eventually leads to you hurting yourself more than saving yourself from hurt. So what will you do when there is a person who comes around, that you want to let in and get to know, but you can’t bring yourself to let your guard down enough for that to happen? At that point, it will hurt just as much to keep your guard up as compared to what you’re trying to guard yourself from. And I say this from experience as I am still working on this. Actually, realizing how God should be the one who guards my heart has helped me to become more comfortable when it comes to letting people in.
God does everything perfectly because He is perfect, so why not have Him do it!
After all, it is exhausting doing it yourself at times. Especially when you are trying to figure out exactly who to trust and who not to. A verse that I have always gone back to for this struggle is Philippians 4:7. However, I am going to state the verse prior to add more context. The verses read, “do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.” Did you catch that? There is an exchange happening. Come to God will all your anxieties and requests in the form of prayer, accompanied with thanksgiving, and God will have His peace come to guard your heart and mind. I don’t know about you, but I would love the other half of that exchange! We get to give all of the things we don’t want to deal with to God as He guards us, guides us, and equips us to move forward with Him. The realization of God being the one who guards my heart gave so much relief, or really, peace. Notice how the verse also emphasizes thanksgiving before He blesses you with His peace that “surpasses all understanding.” Giving thanks to God can sometimes be a hard thing, especially when you are pouring out all your anxieties and requests to Him, but it is so important.
You can give thanks to God for what He has already done in your life, what you believe He is going to do in your life, or just simply because of who He is!
When you focus on who God is, it takes your focus off of your worries and reminds you that He is so much more fit to handle all that you can’t. When you start implementing this change in your life, you may still have doubts about not being the one who is constantly guarding your heart. But as long as you continue to go to God with all your concerns, He will provide His peace that “surpasses all understanding” and that is enough! We don’t need to know how God will show up when starting to get more acquainted with another person. We just need to know that He shows up with His peace, which will surpass our understanding. As you practice this, you will notice you’re not always on the lookout for the next person or situation that will hurt you because Someone is looking out for you! The Lord may still have people come and go in your life, but that may be just to show you that it is possible for you to let your guard down in some ways. Therefore, He always has a plan to give your pain purpose! There is always a lesson to be learned, and confidence to be developed, when you involve God in the equation. So, the next time you get nervous about starting to let someone in to get to know you, remember to go to God asking Him to be the One who guards your heart in the situation! He will watch out for you better than you ever could, while also equipping you with His peace to get you through any outcome.
