Trust Your Heart?

 How many times in your recent memory have you heard a statement similar to this? "Just trust your heart. It will tell you the right thing to do."  Or, "If it feels right, then it must be."

That sounds good, right? But is it? 

We can easily be drawn into believing our feelings. And I don't think we should dismiss them, but we ought to take a closer look at what we are feeling before trusting those emotions. In truth, our hearts often mislead us and can draw us into danger. Caution is a key word here. Test your emotions.

I think it wise to consider what kind of heart we are placing our trust in. Is it ...

• A broken heart?
• One that is heart sick?
• A heart whose needs are unquenchable?
• A heart that has been betrayed?
• The heart of a lost soul?
• The heart of the Godly?

We have felt these and more. The condition of one's heart has a powerful ability to impact feelings and decisions.

This topic came up in our homegroup this week and it has stayed with me. Many times I've gone along with the inclination of trusting one's heart in decision-making, believing a person can trust his heart. But, scripture doesn't say that. What it does say is shocking. 

Jeremiah 17:9 puts it this way ...

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Wow! So, my heart will lie to me? And I won't be able to comprehend truth? It would seem so. 

If this is the case, then what can we do? Are we destined to be tossed to and fro, never knowing which path to follow, what our next move should be? I'm confident that our God is full of mercy and would never abandon us to perplexity. 

There is a difference between a heart that is full of the world and one that is full of the Holy Spirit. 

I found this in Matthew 12:35. It says, "A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart."

Clearly a person's spiritual condition makes a difference in what the longings of their heart may be. Scripture says that God gives us the desires of our heart, meaning that he planted those desires within us. In light of that, it seems to me believers should listen to what their heart is saying.

If only it was that easy. Of course it's not. 

Here's the issue. Even with the love of God and the filling of His Holy Spirit, we still remain human. And humans are imperfect and sinful creatures. We can't be trusted. 

So, now what? 

Dear family, we are not lost. We have many tools at our disposal to enable us to walk wisely and trust what our heart tells us. I encourage you to take your heart's desires and see if they line up with the Word of God. If not, then you need to spend more time deciding what to do with them. Take those thoughts, needs and questions to the Lord. Talk them over with Him. Seek insight and wisdom from others whom you trust. And then, make sure to listen. And never cease praying. 

God wants us to step out in faith and fulfill the desires He has given us. He wants us to be successful in all we do. But He made it clear that caution is a wise step in our walk. 

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie