Follow Your Heart...

How often do we hear those cliche words: "Follow your heart?"

Even as Christians we may find ourselves saying this; we may try to make it sound a little more 'spiritual', but let's be honest, we mean the same thing. Well, in Bible reading the other day I came across this little gem, which seems to be God's opinion on that lovely piece of advice, so I thought I would share it...

Jeremiah 16:12
"And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me."

Dang. But wait. There's more...

Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desparately wicked; who can know it?"

Oh snap. Yeah, He just said that. Who did? Oh right, GOD. Aw man.

"So I'm not supposed to follow my heart? If in my heart I really want something, I can't just assume that is God speaking to me?? It's not like I want bad things!" Let me look at that one more time: "..each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart so that no one listens to Me." Sounds like a big NOPE.

Now, here is the big key in this. There is a definite difference between "following your heart" and being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, i.e. following God; listening to Him. But I have to learn to tell the difference! Let me tell you though, that is not always easy! Sometimes my heart tries to convince me that it is the Holy Spirit, because it wants to have it's way! But just because I want something so badly in my heart, and it seems like a good thing, does not mean that's the direction God is taking me right now. Oh boy, have I been learning this lesson lately. He is telling us right here in His Word so that we have no excuse to not know that this is the way that it works. I must learn to determine the difference between His Spirit and my own heart. But who can tell?

Well, when I read His Word, the Bible, more often...every day, (something that I still have to make an effort to do, to be honest), I find that I learn to be familiar with how He speaks, what He cares about, what He would and would not tell me to do or say. I learn what's on His agenda, what kind of things He expects of me and what He's promised me. It's also so important to take time to pray, i.e. talk with Him often, and spend quiet time with Him. Then when He leads me, my heart can line up with what He's saying, and I'll still know that it's Him! And ya know what? As I spend more time with Him and His Word, my heart begins to lean toward His heart so that - though my own heart can still be deceitful and wicked and don't follow it's every whim - I do find that when He speaks, it's not so contrary to my heart's desire. He is creating in me a clean heart; a heart that wants what He wants. I'm being washed by the Word so that my inclinations of my heart are become less and less selfish, deceitful, etc. Does that make sense?

Well, these are just some thoughts from my own time spent in the Word of God. Hope it provokes you to think and challenges you to check your own heart. Have a lovely weekend!