When to follow your heart – Tuesday, 19 December
If you’re a living sacrifice and you’re changing your way of thinking to start thinking more like God, and less like the world, then your heart will begin to change and your desires will begin to change.
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4 NKJV
Most people interpret this verse to say that “I desire a house, so God will give me my heart’s desire” or, “God knows my heart’s desires; I want a husband who can fix things”. We often use this scripture to license our greed and carnal desires. That’s not what it is talking about. Most people assume this verse is saying that if you desire something, anything, all you need to do is delight in God and He will give it to you. That is not what it is saying. God isn’t just going to give you anything you desire. This verse is telling us that if you delight in the Lord, He will give you desires to desire.
In the Hebrew, the word delight means “soft or pliable”. I believe that “delighting in the Lord” is speaking of having a soft or sensitive heart toward the Lord. If your heart is sensitive to the Lord and (as a living sacrifice) you’re starting to renew your mind and think more like Him, then your desires will start to change (because your heart is mouldable) and His desires will start becoming your desires. This is where God gives you the desires of your heart; He gives you desires to desire.
Walking in your God-given destiny is simple when God is giving you desires to desire: because now you can simply follow what’s in your heart. When you are delighting in the Lord – when your heart is sensitive towards Him and yielding to His influence – then you can trust that the desires in your heart are from God, and you can simply follow them. This isn’t to say that every desire will be from God; you should always test what you’re feeling against the Word (and if it contradicts the Word, dismiss it). It’s always a good idea not to rush into anything and to seek godly counsel. But the more you seek the Lord and the more your heart is sensitive to receive from Him, the more you will start to desire what He desires.
I am not saying, “Just follow your heart”! I am saying, “Seek God, allow Him to change your heart, and then follow your heart”. The devil has perverted this godly principle and the world has embraced his lie to “just follow your heart”. You’re headed for disaster if you simply follow your heart without the foundation of seeking God and allowing Him to change your heart (being a living sacrifice).
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Jeremiah 17:9 KJV
Too many people just “follow their heart” in violation of what they know to be right and true. I counselled someone once who felt in their heart that God was giving them permission to divorce their husband because “God wants me to be happy”. That’s deception. It’s making excuses for not being in control of your emotions. God will never, never lead you to do something that goes against His Word. You cannot trust your feelings and desires if you aren’t a living sacrifice. But if you have the root of being a living sacrifice, you will have the fruit of godly desires.
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