A few days ago I was listening to Johnny Cash’s song, “I Walk the Line”, while I was running. One of the lines in the song is “Keep a close watch on this heart of mine.” It reminded me of several scriptures:
- Proverbs 4:23 – “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.”
- Proverbs 14:30 – “A heart at peace gives life to the body but envy rots the bones.”
- Proverbs 15 :13 – “A happy heart makes the face cheerful.”
- Proverbs 17:22 – “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
From a spiritual perspective, our heart is the deepest part of our being. It perhaps includes our soul and our spirit. It’s clear by what we read in scripture that God advises, in fact he commands us, to take care of matters of the heart. Certainly Johnny Cash knew that, and God wants us to know that too.
How do we take care of our heart? We guard against things that are not of God. We resist the lies that the evil one speaks into our mind. We spend time reading God’s Word so that His truth can sink deep into our spirit and soul – our heart. As we understand His truth by reading the Word, we do our very best to live our lives in accordance with His guidelines and His truth. We monitor our behaviors, our thoughts and what we say. We take an honest look, on a periodic basis, deep into our heart, to see if there is any aspect of our heart that is not in alignment with God.
Having any bitterness or unforgiveness in our heart certainly is not of God. If somebody has hurt you in the past, if you are upset with God or you haven’t forgiven yourself concerning an issue of your life, your heart is probably not right with either God, yourself or another person. God would want us to take this issue to Him prayerfully so that we don’t carry this burden in our heart. Doing this frees us up on the inside so that more of God’s Spirit can control us.
Yes, our heart is the wellspring of all life. It is at the deepest level of our heart that God lives in us with His Holy Spirit. He does not want to share space with anything that’s not good, pure and holy. Is your heart pure? Is your heart full of peace, joy and love? I hope so, because when that’s the case, God’s spirit certainly can be alive in you to the fullest. Consequently, your life will probably be healthier because of it. You’ll also be a better example for others who observe you as you live this life.
Take good care of your heart….and have an awesome day!!
Read more Scriptures About the Heart
“Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” This had been my father’s very favorite verse…He past on from congestive heart failure. It seemed that so many of his immediate family, his siblings, parents, people around him even myself included (even I took care of him during his last years, I did not do my best) have hurt his heart – he was a man of very few words. People took advantages of him especially the relatives as we immigrated to this country (sponsered by relatives who still think that we owed them this favor forever). My heart still hurts and I have heart issues at the young age of 50’s despite healthy living etc)
The grieving process (>2years) is very difficult. I have been focusing my attention on the heart and have been reading and studying various books on the heart from the scripture…
Could you please shed some light on how do we get out of these situations, environments of continuous hurt or repeated hurt by people even our relatives… It is not easy to forgive as we all have celluar memories, nervous systems that flare when we encounter those people that continue to hurt us…Thanks so much!
Thanks so much!
Hello Ling. Thank you so much for your comment about the heart. I’m sorry that you have had to experience the pain associated with your relationships, especially with family members. Sometimes, we can make a choice to not associate with people… to cut off relationships with them. That is one option.
The main thing to do is to learn how to forgive. I have several posts on my site on this topic – https://www.faithandhealthconnection.org/tag/forgiveness/. We often need the enablement of the Holy Spirit to give us this ability as the human heart sometimes just can’t forgive on its own.
I also have several blog posts on the heart – https://www.faithandhealthconnection.org/tag/heart/ You may find it helpful to read these.
Pray. Pray. Pray and ask God to help you with this!
Hope this helps Ling.
I have found through many years of heart ache from abuse , loved ones lost and life struggles. Forgiveness is hard but necessary to be able to heal and to move on. The deep wounds are impossible without the help of Jesus forgiveness frees us ! And the peace that passes all understanding follows
Soooo good!! I would like to share your blog on a new non profit organization I’m starting! My first campaign will be for my friend Dee who has had a heart transplant and after a year is starting to have rejection issues. I found your site through searching for scriptures about the heart. Love your explanation on the value of a spiritually healthy heart. I will let you know when we get it going, our application is submitted, but would love your permission to share;)
Hi Suzanne, You are welcome to use the post on your new non profit website if you include a mention and link to my original post. Sincerely, Dale Fletcher
Good morning. As I read Psalm 51, I remembered reading that if you are in need of an area in your life to be delivered from or to be healed or understanding, then to search the scriptures for that area, and after reading this particular Psalm, I felt in my heart, to search for scriptures on the heart and your search caught my attention. I downloaded the scriptures pertaining to the heart. I realize, it has weighed me down and that’s why I can’t get any breaks in my life. My unclean heart has blocked the flow of God in my life and I got mad at the truth this past Sunday as my Pastor was teaching us how he stays in the flow of blessings of God and that’s love. Because faith worketh by love and if my heart is not right, it jams my faith. I thank you for this resource needed as God says He has unlimited resources to assist me with the love of Christ being shed in my heart or His heart and love duplicated in mine. I signed up and can’t wait to dig in so God’s love, peace, and joy will begin to flow and operate through me and in me. Thank you.
Hi Dale,
Great article mate and great website. Your work here is truly an inspiration. I came across it from reading proverbs 4:23-27. wanted to do a study on the heart and found you.
I just wanted to say hi.
Mitchell
Sheri,
Thanks for your comment. What I understand you saying is that sometimes someone who we love has hurt you can still be “in your heart” and that the feelings associated with that person, in your heart, are other than pure and holy and love(God’s attributes).
What you write about seems to be in the area of forgiveness, perhaps. I think it’s okay to have a memory of hurt and loss and pain, but not emotions associated with, in this case, the relationship or the person. Through complete forgiveness, and it’s a process, our emotions can be different. With the help of Christ and His love, the heart can be restored to love.
Then, there will be no further tainting of the heart. I pray that your heart will be able to restored to peace and love.
Dale
Hi Dale, your entry is eloquently written. I agree wholeheartedly, although one question has arisen. It pains God for us to live life away from His Will for immediate pleasures and gratification offered in this sinful world. When an individual such as this breaks a heart, that heart can go through an incredible struggle to get over it. However, that heart struggles with the person their lost love became. You mention that “God does not want to share space with anything that’s not good, pure and holy.” It seems that the loved one will always have a place in the heart, and they are all those things – “not good, pure or holy”. How can God not answer the best uttered prayers to improve that loved one for God’s Will? He is tainting the very heart God lives in.
Does this make sense?