Bible Truths – “Follow Your Heart?”

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  Jeremiah 17:9

“Just follow your heart.”

This is some advice that we have all either received or given out.  If we are true to ourselves and pursue after what we feel is best for us, things have to turn out alright.  Right?

Not according to the Bible.  We read in Jeremiah 17:9 that our hearts are deceitful.  Our heart, meaning the inner man, may desire things that are not in God’s will and therefore not in our best interests.  We also read that our hearts are desperately wicked.  Since the time of Adam’s fall our hearts have been wicked, as well.

The thought that we know what is best for us is a man-centered approach to life.  We hear voices all around us telling us to believe in ourselves, trust in ourselves, be true to yourself, and to listen to yourself.  This, again, runs counter to God’s Word.  In Proverbs 16:25 we read, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”  If we trust in our own senses, if we put our faith in our own deceitful, wicked hearts, we are led towards death.

Now…if we can’t follow our hearts because they are deceitful and wicked; and if the ways that seem right to us can actually lead us toward death, what are we to do?  Follow another man?  His heart is wicked and deceitful, too.  Are we not in a predicament?

Thankfully, God’s Word shows us where we are to go for direction.  Proverbs 3:5,6 tell us, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

Praise the Lord we do have someone who will direct our paths!  It is the Lord Himself.  We are told to trust in the Lord and not in our own understanding.  Our Father in Heaven cares for us and He has promised us that He will direct our paths.  How does He do this?  He leads us through His Word which teaches us about Him and how we should live.  Jesus said of the Bible, “Sanctify them through thy Word, thy Word is truth.” (John 17:17)  God also leads us through the guidance of His Holy Spirit which indwells each and every believer.  His Spirit convicts us of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8).  What a blessing we have as believers to not be left alone in this world with only our wicked, deceitful hearts.  Let us all thank Him for His guidance that He provides and to remember to trust in Him with all our hearts and not to simply follow our own hearts.

Pastor Lee Smith