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Should I follow my heart? The world will tell you to “follow your heart.” It’s sounds so easy, right? Just do what feels right for you. Whether it’s a daily choice about spending or something with bigger consequences, our emotions often guide our decisions.
But, should you follow your heart?
NO!!
Follow Jesus.
I want my teens to remember that as Christians, Jesus over rules our hearts. We follow Him even when it doesn’t make sense. We follow Him even when it hurts. We follow Him even if we don’t like where He is going.
As a mother of teenagers and a long-time youth minister I long to see my teens choose Jesus over their own desires. As a part of “30 Things I Want My Teens to Remember” I want to tell them over and over, “Don’t follow your heart; follow Jesus.”
Why? Your heart will trick you! It will lead you astray. The Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9).
Should I follow my heart?
God never tells us to follow our hearts, yet over and over, Jesus calls, “Follow me.” (Matthew 4:19, Matthew 4:19, Matthew 8:22, Mark 1:17, John 10:27, Luke 9:59, John 1:43, John 13:36, John 12:26, Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:23)
“Follow Me.”
When you follow Jesus, the One who is both all-knowing and all-loving, you can trust that you will end up where you belong. You may go through some dark valleys, but The Good Shepherd will never leave you alone (Psalm 23). He will continue to work all things—even the hard, impossible-to-understand things—for your good and His glory (Romand 8:28).
As we trust and obey Jesus, He will give us the good things our hearts desire because they will be the desires He puts in our hearts (Psalm 37:4).
When we seek His kingdom first, He will add many more blessings to our lives (Matthew 6:33).
So instead of asking, “Should I follow my heart?” let’s ask ourselves, “Is my heart following Jesus?”
Let’s strive together to follow Jesus
and lead others to come along.
Let Him guide our wary hearts
in God’s will where they belong.
Remember, our fickle emotions of the heart change moment by moment, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
(See Who Rules Your Heart by my friend Charlie for more on the following Jesus in our hearts.)
Has your heart lead you astray? It’s not too late to begin following Jesus.
See Know Jesus or What is the Gospel Anyway for more.
More in the ongoing series, “30 Things I Want My Teens to Remember”
