Don't Follow Your Heart

The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV)

We often see such a romantic line plastered on walls, clothing, and home decor: “Follow your heart.” It is so easy to say that the heart knows what the heart wants, and that we must follow its whims. But the Holy Scriptures tell us something completely opposite of what the world would have us believe.

We have the option to follow our hearts, but we are warned that it is deceitful. The heart’s inclination is to lead you astray, deceiving you into believing that what it wants is right, and that what you must do to obtain it is justified. The word used for deceitful also means “bumpy terrain.” I am reminded of the words of Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (ESV).

The heart is desperately sick—it is incurable! Should we trust such a thing to lead us in a way that leads to life? By no means. Rather, we should be as one who delights “in the law of the Lord,” and we must meditate on His law “day and night” (Psalm 1:2). That is the way to being blessed; this is the way to true happiness.

When your heart pulls you in a certain direction, pump the brakes and meditate on the Word of God. His ways are better (Isaiah 55:9). The heart is impatient, but God is very patient (2 Peter 3:9). His will factors in the time it will take for you to pray about your next steps. Do not rush into your heart’s sickly desires, but wait upon the Lord; the heart is bumpy terrain, but God’s way will have you soaring in the right direction (Isaiah 40:31).

Non Nobis Nati