Get off the ride, and take back the leash!
Follow your heart. Those words have been uttered by well-meaning people for decades. I’ve heard this from people of every color, background, and creed. It seems like pretty good advice on the surface. Do what makes you happy. Pursue your dreams. Go after what you want. You do you. I’m here to tell you that it is terrible advice. Before you get offended and stop reading, please let me explain.
Let me define what the heart is exactly. I’m not speaking of the muscular organ that pumps blood through your circulatory system. I definitely want you to take care of your physical heart. And if your heart is about to pump out of your chest, definitely follow its leading and slow down and take a rest. I certainly don’t want you to have a heart attack.
However, let me dole out another definition of heart. It is the central or innermost part of something. In the Bible, the heart usually refers to the soul - a person’s mind, will, and emotions. So with that in mind, I will say one more time that following your heart is a terrible plan.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 ESV
Feelings are liars. Your heart will lie to you over and over again. As someone who feels a wide range of emotions deeply, trust me when I say that feelings can’t be trusted to tell you the truth. Feelings are important and they help inform us, but they shouldn’t be given the reins to make decisions and represent facts. Because it is sick and we really can’t fully understand it.
Your mind, will, and emotions can shift and change based upon circumstances, but truth doesn’t change. So there is definitely a disconnect, and they are definitely not the same.
Let me pose a question to you. Let’s say you are taking a dog for a walk. Who is leading - you or the dog? Sure the dog is out in front, but is it leading you? If your answer is yes, I would then ask you if you would follow that dog into traffic or a garbage can or into the neighbor’s house. Would you? Certainly not! Because the dog is not actually the one leading. If you let it lead you around, you would be dragged through the mud, into oncoming traffic, and all over the place. It would be exhausting, would leave your hurting, and wouldn’t actually get where you need to go! Your heart is the same as the dog. It should not be given free reign to drag you and those around you all over the place on an emotional rollercoaster. Nobody wants on that ride. There is a reason that there is a warning about heart conditions before you get on a rollercoaster. It’s not heart-healthy. And like the dog-led walk, rollercoasters also don’t lead anywhere. They just bring you back to the place where you started. But if you want to move forward, get off the ride, and learn to take back the leash.
Sometimes, like a stubborn dog, your heart will be stubborn, too. It doesn’t always want to go where you lead it. But just like you have to pull the leash and direct the dog to safety, we must do the same with our hearts. And I realize this isn’t a perfect analogy as there are dogs trained to guide blind people. But they are trained to lead the blind. Perhaps if we train our hearts in the truth, we can avoid the dangerous places. Either way you look at it (you leading or the dog leading), the dog still must be trained. And so must our hearts.
We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 NLT
When our emotions, strong will, or lofty thoughts are rebellious and keeping us away from walking in the truth of God, we must direct and train them to do the right thing. Recognizing when we are letting our heart lead us rather than the Holy Spirit is the first step toward growth in this area of our lives.
If you find yourself putting hope in something other than Jesus - thinking God’s promises to you are material things, economical success, a specific relationship, successful ministry, etc. - then pull the leash on your heart back to center and remember that God’s promises are in His Word. He has saved you and will be with you. There are many promises, but the promises are for all of us, so if you feel like you’ve been promised something else, something unique, you may want to reevaluate why you think that. Who told you that? Put your focus back on Jesus, and direct your heart back to truth and safety. Take back the leash!
Likewise, if you find yourself doubting and fearful, believing God doesn’t care about you and will never answer your prayers, thinking you don’t matter to anyone and will never truly belong - remind yourself who you are and whose you are according to the Bible, God’s Word. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You have been equipped for good works. You are seen. There’s a lot in there, so go look for it! Speak truth to your heart to get it back on the right path. Lead your wandering heart back to the Lord. Take back the leash!
We will never stop feeling things. I never want to stop feeling. Feelings can be amazing! God gave them to us for a reason. In fact, I encourage people to feel deeply. Learn to understand your feelings and where they are coming from. Appreciate emotions and opinions. Understand your heart and others’ hearts. But the heart was never meant to be the ruler of your life. We must guide it, and when it is unruly and misbehaving, we must bring it under submission to Christ and take our thoughts and feelings captive and make them obedient. Take back the leash!
Your heart will lead you toward selfish ambition, pride, lust, and other sins. You do you isolates you from caring about and serving others. Pursuing your dreams and plans won’t satisfy. Only Christ will. If you find yourself repeating history, back in the same spot over and over again, consider getting off the wild rollercoaster. Stop letting the heart drag you around. So, no, don’t follow your heart. Lead it.
