Ever heard of the phrase “Follow your heart?” We see it everywhere from the cartoons we saw growing up to lines in songs and graphics on T-shirts. It’s a way of life to some people, creating a seemingly passionate and romantic way of living to the fullest.
Choosing to follow your heart is a bold statement to make, but what does it mean exactly? In my opinion, following your heart means that you are allowing your natural passions to rule over logic and make decisions based on what you know in your heart will mean happiness, even if it doesn’t make sense to the brain. But what if your heart isn’t right? Would you still follow it? That’s one reason why following your heart doesn’t always work. Let’s explore this topic in the word.
We all know of the Proverbs 18:22 scripture: “He that findeth a wife, findeth a good thing.” Let’s go up a chapter and look at Proverbs 17. Verse 20 says “He who has a deceitful heart finds no good” in the NKJV; the NLT version reads: “The crooked heart will not prosper.” In other words, he will have unsuccessful ventures, including choosing a wife, keeping a good woman, and sustaining a Godly marriage and good health. How can a man with commitment issues in his heart find a wife, yet he desires to be married? That mess in his heart may be something he doesn’t even realize he has and it’s been there so long, he chooses broken relationship after broken relationship. This is why its important that we invite God into our hearts to examine and clean them up.
This goes for women as well. I’ve seen too many people make jokes about the real problems of insecurity in relationships. For example, when a guy moves away from his phone, it’s “fair game” for the woman he’s seeing to snoop and check his phone for pictures, texts, etc. If you already have these insecurities in your heart, they will tell your brain to make the action to spy (a sign of mistrust) and that damages the relationship; no “good thing” in relationships come from insecurity. This is not the reflection of a godly wife, so confront the issues residing in your heart to prepare for better way of thinking, believing, and acting.
Looking to Proverbs 23, we see a lot of sound instruction on how to operate in life. Verse 15 says “My child, if your heart is wise my own heart will rejoice!” which means that we can please God by simply embracing His wisdom. It will bring Him joy to live a life that’s devoted to Him and give Him glory in our relationships with other people, especially in our future marriages. What God won’t do for His children (us)! He will bless us even more so if we follow His ways instead of relying on our fickle hearts. God wants us to keep His words in the midst of our hearts, as according to Proverbs 4:20-21:
“My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.”
Can you hear the Father saying that to you as you read it? This is loving mercy from God who desires to see us succeed in our relationships by guiding us with His instructions and examples from Christ and His Holy Spirit. Let’s bring this post to full circle: when we trust God with our hearts, we will be more equipped to follow it, because He is in it, glory! Psalm 119: 2 “Joyful are those who obey His laws and search for Him with all their hearts.”
Instead of following your heart, follow after God with all of your heart, submitting your passions and desires to Him to prepare you for the next chapters of your life.
Are you ready?
When you give God your heart and follow His course for finding and receiving love and a healthy, anointed marriage in the future, you have to take the passionate risk of entrusting Him with your heart and follow His word. “I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise” is what we find in the song of Heth in Psalm 119: 58 NIV. It may be hard to see where you will go, but we won’t be able to contain the joy from the blessings that come out at the end of the search/wait!
BMWK fam, have you had a follow-your-heart moment?