The children’s Church song leader taught the kids in our Church a simple praise chorus.

“I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart.”

There were more repetitive verses with the lyrics, “I’ve got the peace that passes understanding” and “I’ve got the love of Jesus.” Always followed by that one question, “Where?” The children shouted the robust response, “Down in my heart!”

What is in your heart?

Over a lifetime, it is easy to move from that enthusiastic child to a cynical adult. We fill our hearts with guilt, shame, hurt, failure, and pessimism. Life teaches us to replace joy with skepticism, peace with anxiety, and the love of Jesus with the pain of sin. And we bury it down in our hearts.

One challenge of someone who follows Jesus is to replace the junk that fills our hearts with God’s truth. The song possibly reminds us of an easy way to do that: Repetition. Maybe we need to wake up daily and say, “I’ve got joy, peace, and love in Jesus.” Then repeat it in the morning, at lunch, in the afternoon, at dinner, in the evening, and before bed. Continually reminding ourselves of what God’s word teaches is a helpful strategy to get the truth down into our hearts. Where?