The Bible Doesn't Say “Follow Your Heart”
The world tells us to trust our feelings. Scripture tells us to trust God.
FAITH
Glorious Grace
8/23/20262 min read
It sounds like harmless advice. We hear it in movies, songs, social media posts, and everyday conversations. People are encouraged to trust their feelings, pursue their dreams, and do whatever feels right.
But there is a problem with that advice.
The Bible never tells us to follow our hearts.
In fact, Scripture warns us that our hearts can lead us in the wrong direction.
Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"
That doesn't sound like something we should blindly follow.
The Bible's message is not that every desire we have is trustworthy. Because of sin, our desires can be distorted. We can sincerely want something that is wrong. We can feel strongly about a decision and still be completely mistaken.
That is why Scripture repeatedly directs us away from trusting ourselves and toward trusting God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Notice the difference.
The Bible does tell us to trust—but it tells us to trust the Lord, not ourselves.
This doesn't mean Christians should ignore their emotions. God created us with emotions, and feelings can tell us something about what is happening inside us. But feelings are not supposed to become our ultimate authority.
God's Word is.
If we make every major decision based on what feels right, we can easily justify almost anything.
A relationship feels right, so we ignore what Scripture says.
A choice feels good, so we assume God must approve of it.
A teaching sounds loving, so we accept it without testing it against Scripture.
A lifestyle makes us happy, so we convince ourselves that God must want it for us.
But Christianity is not about making God agree with our desires. It's about surrendering our desires to God.
Jesus said, “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23).
Notice that Jesus said deny himself—not follow himself.
That can be difficult in a culture that constantly tells us to “be true to yourself,” “trust your instincts” and “do what makes you happy.”
Sometimes following Christ means doing the exact opposite of what our feelings want.
Sometimes obedience requires saying no to something we desperately want.
Sometimes God's Word confronts us rather than comforts us.
And that is precisely why we need Scripture.
The question for Christians shouldn't simply be, “What does my heart want?”
It should be: “What does God say?”
Our hearts can change. Our emotions can change. Culture changes. Opinions change.
God's Word, however, does not.
When our desires agree with Scripture, we can rejoice. When they don't, Scripture—not our feelings—must have the final word.
The world says, “Follow your heart.”
The Bible says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart.”
Those are not the same thing. One places our confidence in ourselves. The other places our confidence in God.
And for the Christian, God is the one worth following.
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