How to Guard Your Heart and Mind
Does your heart yearn for inner peace and joy?
Try Barbara’s strategies for how to live
contentedly in today’s challenging times.
There is more than one way to “guard your heart.” You might think you need to help your heart’s health by choosing healthier foods and exercising regularly as your doctor recommends. That’s true, and I hope you’re already doing that.
But to live with peace and joy in your heart, you also need to guard it spiritually. As we are instructed in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Our mind needs guarding too, especially in today’s challenging times. Have you ever pondered the many times you’ve had to “retrain your thought pattern” as you’ve grown older and experienced one new change after another? How often did you have to make adjustments in your personal life or work situation? I’ll bet you weren’t always happy about some changes you made to accommodate others, which probably got your mind going in a way that stole some of your inner peace and joy.
Because we’re living in a world today that seems alien to most of us, it’s important to ask ourselves if we are in control of our thought processes or letting our mind be controlled by outside forces. Sometimes we let ourselves worry about something we think might happen that will force us to change how we’re living or working. But often what we worry about never happens, and we’ve wasted a lot of energy and “mind power” that could have been focused on more important things.
How to Renew Your Mind
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2; NLT).
When our world began to change dramatically in 2021, I began to change my thought pattern by considering what I was allowing into my mind each day. I became extremely selective in what news I listened to and where I got it, because much of what I’d been watching on cable TV was taking me into fearful dark places I didn’t want to go. And those thoughts were causing me sleepless nights and stressing me in a way that I knew was harmful to my physical and mental health.
I decided that all I needed to know to stay up on what was happening in America and worldwide was to read the headlines of the Christian newsletters hitting my inbox every day—not the articles themselves unless I thought they would be informative or spiritually uplifting to me. Anything happening that was already distressing me did not deserve a minute of my time to read about it in more detail because I could do nothing to change it.
By mid-year, I’d completely tuned out all the cable news programs I used to watch every day because I couldn’t take another minute of violence, lawlessness, political news, and angry people arguing with one another on talk shows. Very quickly I found myself in a mentally calm, worry-free and restful place, my mind suddenly free to focus on the needs of family and friends, my writing and website work, and my personal dreams and goals. Let the world take care of itself, I thought.
At that time, I also began another read-through of the Bible to put God’s word deeper in my heart and mind and help me see the world through the LORD’s eyes rather than mine. My personal and spiritual life was greatly enriched when, in July 2022, I found a new gospel-centered evangelistic church led by an inspiring Bible-teaching pastor. I quickly began to form new friendships and now have an extended family there that has greatly enriched my life. Most important to me now is knowing God’s Word and striving to live and work and interact with others in a way that’s pleasing to my Lord and the plans I know He has for me. This verse gives me great comfort:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11; NIV).
Uplifting Things to Think About
Here’s how to guard your heart and mind against thoughts that might bring you down:
“Finally, brothers, 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” (Phil. 4:8, NLT).
Your primary life goal should be to strive for the peace of God, and here’s the formula for that:
“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” (Phil. 4:6-7 NIV).
P.S. In an interview with the New York Times, actor Denzel Washington—a man who isn’t afraid to openly share his faith—reiterated that he is a “God-fearing man” while also warning people to not become too self-focused. “This is spiritual warfare,” he said. “So I'm not looking at it from an earthly perspective. If you don’t have a spiritual anchor you’ll be easily blown by the wind and you’ll be led to depression.”
First published as Barbara's "Personal Musings About Life" in May 2024.
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