fbpx

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

Encourage Someone Else By Sharing!

Ever since we were little children, we were taught to follow our hearts.  Every Disney princess that followed this formula got a happy ending.  Why should our lives be any different?

In my quiet time, I came across this scripture that has me asking the question, “Should I follow my heart?”

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. Amen.

Romans 1:24 – 25

Wait, what? Rewind. In this scripture, there is a group of people whose hearts desires were leading them away from God. Eventually, God gave them over to those desires. The desires of their own heart.  

This means that prior to this, God was trying to protect these people from the desires of their hearts.  

As this section of the verse jumped out to me, I thought, “But God, we were always taught to follow our hearts”.  

I’m not going to lie. I got a little annoyed at all of my Disney fantasies. I felt bamboozled. 

Society tells us myths that are not based on God’s truth, and because we are not enlightened, most of us tend to eat it up because it sounds good.  

“Follow your heart” sounds romantic.  It looks like the right thing to do, but it’s not Biblical.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

-Jeremiah 17:9

 

All desires are not Godly.

God knows that as humans, there are times we will desire what is not good for us. 

  • Your heart may desire a relationship that is toxic for you.  
  • Your heart can desire to stay in a country when God has instructed you to move. 
  • Your heart can desire to get a divorce when God is clearly telling you to stay and heal.

Every desire and expectation that is birthed from the human heart does not come from God. As a result, there are times when following our hearts can be downright dangerous for us.

Since we now know the answer to “Should I Follow My Heart” is not always yes,  then what should we do? 

Follow the heart of God!

Following the heart of God means chasing after the desires of God’s heart.  It means to seek to do what pleases God actively.

We can never go wrong by following the heart of God because God’s heart is pure, and God is perfect. 

Follow The Heart of God By Building A Relationship With Him

Whenever we talk about following the heart of God, David always comes to mind. 

David was a man after God’s heart.  Not perfect, actually like all of us, very flawed.  But God loved God dearly because David chased after God’s heart.  

As we look through the life of David, even as a shepherd boy, David stayed in close relationship with God.  

Being in close relationship with God causes us to be sensitive to His voice and to learn His heart towards humanity. 

Being a man after God’s heart caused David to live a blessed life. Even generations after David benefited because of His desire for God’s Heart.  

Follow The Heart of God By Being Obedient

As humans, we tend to make decisions based on our present knowledge and circumstances while God sees much further down the line.  God sees the beginning straight to the end. 

Since God sees ahead, He will do everything in His power to protect us from the evil desires of hearts.  Of course, since we have free will, it is up to us to be obedient to God’s instructions. 

Like ending that relationship. Ouch!  

God will always do His part; however, obedience will always be our part. 

Disobedience and following our own hearts’ desires will come with repercussions. If you read further into Romans 1:24 – 30, those consequences are laid out.  We see the consequences of God, allowing these people to pursue the desires of their hearts.  Spoiler alert, it got really messy.

Follow The Heart of God So That He Can Heal and Renew Your Heart

There is an even more significant benefit of following the heart of God. When we chase after the heart of God rather than our desires, He begins to work on our hearts. As God works on our hearts, he begins to renew our hearts until it looks a lot like His heart. 

This is done through spending time with God through prayer and reading the Bible.

When our hearts begin to look like God, then our decisions will begin to reflect God.  In this renewal, we develop the ability to test and prove God’s will for our lives (Romans 12:2). In short, we learn God’s plan for us specifically.

To put it plainly, the more you are like God, THEN you can follow your heart because technically, your heart will be duplicating God’s heart.   

In the end, the pursuit of God’s heart should be a daily practice.  We should constantly be asking God to examine our hearts and to remove any evil.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

-Psalms 139: 23-24

I want to encourage you to stay rooted in the word of God.  Be careful not to hop on every saying because you heard it all of your life, or everyone is saying it. Instead, test every spirit (1 John 4:1). 

Develop a closer walk with God by learning how God speaks to you.

As always, I’m here to pray, encourage, and cheer you on!

Until next time…

Be strong. Be Courageous. Serve God Wholeheartedly

Gilberta Thompson