“I cannot always follow my heart”. I wrote that in my journal the other day. Looking at the words on the page, I was kinda taken back. It felt wrong, I so love the idea of “Follow your bliss” and “Listen to your heart”. I mean it’s a prevalent message these days, you hear it in songs, see it in movies. Heck, it’s even Biblical…”…He will give you the desires of your heart.” Following your heart can open a whole new world of creativity and potential. But the more I thought about it, taking that affirmation at face value, following your heart can also put you in a world of pain. Unnecessary pain.
Last year, I watched someone I love follow their heart and end up beaten to a bloody pulp. In looking back at my own history and monumental screw-ups, I see that most of my bad decisions were made on the advice of “my heart”. How could I have been fooled all those times?
Sometimes it’s easy to spot a wayward heart. If my heart compels me to gamble away the money in my savings account, well, that’s obvious enough. But other times it’s not so clear. What if my heart tells me I have a connection with someone whose not my spouse. Just a connection. A friendship. That’s all. How can that be so bad? Okay, even that’s an easy one for most people to spot. I want to bring it closer to home…
What if my heart tells me I don’t have to go to church anymore? Ouch. That I just can’t deal with the rules and regulations of each denomination…the judgment. Okay, that’s close enough to home. Thank you….
I want to go closer still, what if my heart tells me I’m happier and more secure staying at home inside my four walls and I don’t really need people..I have all the connection I need. Annnd, there it is. The “sting” for me, right now anyway. But for the record, you may be surprised if I start explaining the why’s and why not’s of my current “sting”. I’m telling you I can coax the red off a stop sign….I’m good at arguing a point and making it sound legit. Maybe that’s what the Bible is talking about in Jeremiah, “the heart is deceitful above all things…”
So, I wonder, is my heart friend or foe? In reading the entirety of Psalm37:4-5, here’s what I believe is the answer…
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to Him, trust in Him…” It’s all about the focus I suppose. In following my heart I’ve caused the most damage, when my focus has been entirely on myself. What I want. What gives me a rush or what gives me the most satisfaction. When I’m focused on God my heart begins to desire different things, often times it involves a pouring out or giving of myself.
Have you ever followed your heart and gotten into trouble? And are you like me, able to talk your way into things that aren’t best for you?
Just a few thoughts from my journal…love and prayers as we live our legacy~one day at a time.
wow, wow, wow. Thanks for your honest sharing and for the reminder to keep our eyes on Him and to make sure we are running our desires through His word and His filter. My desires (most from my head and I credited the heart)…have inflicted some real damage..have blessed day!
Deep post, Rob.
As soon as I wrote you that FB message a few days ago which included “Follow your heart” I started thinking about this very phrase. Maybe we should try and follow that Still Small Voice –but how do we divide the two?
Yes. Following my heart (my way?) has gotten me into trouble. Gotten me hurt.
Jules…I didn’t even remember you wrote that. I so believe that from a creative perspective our heart can guide us in the right direction if our focus is on Him not us. This is a tough one, but you know the still small voice is just that and I’ve noticed that when my heart deceives me it’s normally loud and raging and compelling…(which makes it easy to ignore the still small voice) At times like that I think what Tom said comes into play…”running our desires through His word and His filter”…love that Tom.
AMEN!!! AMEN!!!! AMEN!!!!
Okay that is equivalent to a Beth Moore Bible Study!! Love it!!!
And Yes, keeping our eyes, our thoughts and our hearts on HIM and In His Word!
Wow Robin! This is absolutely a great post! It is hard for most to discern from God or Me. That is my biggest struggle with my faith. I have to say though that no one is perfect but Jesus! So with that said, we will always make mistakes…. the difference is that we notice it and not do it again! Love you girl!
.-= Chele´s last blog ..Mom Bloggers 2010 at Ocean Isle Inn =-.
Chele…that’s my struggle too! I’m so thankful God is gentle and understanding as we try to hear Him…love to you xoxo
I think if we are honest that all of us have gotten into trouble following our heart a time or two or three or….. I will stand and raise my hand as “affirmative!” I didn’t understand a whole lot of this until I read Wild at Heart and something just clicked inside me. Like others I have struggled and still do, with Paul’s saying in Romans 7: “what I want to do I don’t, what I don’t want to do I do.” I think Chele hit it right when she said “God or me?” The problem as I see it (and I am certainly no expert) is that we are ruled mainly by our emotions. If an emotion makes my heart feel good or satisfied, we will do it or give sanction to it…even though it may be dangerous for us in the long run. There is more that I know some psych dude or dudette can elaborate on but for me it is a constant struggle with determining where my heart (my affections) lies. Psalm 37:5 is my favorite verse in Scripture and yet I have questions about it. It centers on whether it is my desire or His desire. I have gone on long enough Robin. Sorry. So much more to say. just remember: I heart you.
.-= Bill (cycleguy)´s last blog ..Accepting Generosity =-.
Bill, I was sooooo hoping you’d weigh in! Wise Godly pastor that you are, I knew you’d help clarify. Ruled by our emotions…holy cow, yes! Sadly it takes experience sometimes, painful ones to even begin to understand that these emotions are fickle and don’t give a rat’s behind if we’re led astray … Praying today that He puts His desires in our hearts …love and prayers
Oh, love these words, Robin! Why is it I love the heart shape, love the good, warm, fuzzy and fun about it, but KNOW that my heart can be so deceitful and cunning!?! you’re right, God’s WORD MUST BE our filter and our Rock!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Suzanne
.-= suzanne´s last blog ..What is YOUR choice??? =-.
Wow. I am speechless. This is awesome. Thank you Lord for the leading of your spirit. Thank you for writing this. You just never know who you may help. This makes me think of a song that they sing at my church…Where would I be without my Lord?
.-= valerie´s last blog ..Fun Weekend =-.
Robin,
Oh my goodness…How I needed those words this morning. God used your words to speak to me and I’m so thankful for that. The desires of my heart have been exactly that, MY desires. My prayer is for the desires of my heart to be God given. I’ve been focusing too much on me, me, me. Thank you for the post and your “beautiful language”, as I would tell my students.
Great post. Robin. I needed that this morning!
I loved this post so much I shared it on my Facebook page thanks for your sharing words I needed to hear!
I think you nailed it with this sentence: “When I’m focused on God my heart begins to desire different things…”
Most of the theologians I read interpret that passage to mean NOT that God gives you the things you’ve always wanted, but He gives you new desires – or more accurately, the very act of “delighting in the Lord” means that you desire HIM, and He is faithful to give Himself to you.
I think our cultural “follow your heart” mentality is deadly – UNLESS it’s understood the way you’ve articulated it here. Sadly, most folks are never satsfied because they insist on God giving them the “desires of their heart” on THEIR terms, with little or no regard to His desires. They never get past their natural “wants” to find the joy of delighting in God, which is the only guarantee we have of satisfaction.
Good stuff Robin!!
.-= Michael´s last blog ..Seeing [Christmas] With New Eyes =-.
I really like what Bill talked about above…emotions. It’s when we let our emotions rule us that we get into trouble. Whether it’s, as you spoke about Robin, trying to convince others that what we feel is right, and we tend to get so emotionally involved in that, that we actually convince ourselves that God is behind it because we are so entrenched in our own ideas. How then do we know that it is God’s voice and not our own? God always leads us into humility and out of pride.
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. (Psalm 25:9)
.-= Eileen´s last blog ..Keeping The Faith =-.
Beautiful post! It’s so true and it’s just what I needed to hear today! Thanks for sharing!
I just found your website and I think its just divine… thank you for sharing your musings with us I have been gleaning over your site for a while now that my bum is telling me to get up and get moving… ha ha… I did get a chuckle about your cat and the snow… we have a Flock Guardian Puppy GP and he had never seen snow before and he was sure going crazy in it when we caught some drifts a few weeks back on Christmas Eve of all wonderful days…
.-= Jeannie´s last blog ..For the Love Of Horses =-.
You are so right – it’s all about our focus! If we are focused on ourselves instead of God, our heart (sinful in nature) will lead us astray. Excellent post. We recently had a series at church on 5 lies of the devil – one being, “follow your heart.” Thought you may be interested in listening – http://www.newspring.cc/series/fiveliesofthedevil-3
.-= Vanessa´s last blog ..I’m already thinking girly =-.
I think the bible says He will give us the desires of our hearts because of the first part… “If we delight in HIM.” Our focus, our delight, being on Him will make the desires of our heart the same as the desire of His heart.
It’s the focus that always leads me astray. It’s when I listen to my heart instead of asking me to hear His in me.
.-= gitz´s last blog ..Flashback Friday: Pictures of Uganda =-.