My heart may speak, but God's Word is final!

“He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.” — Proverbs 28:26 NKJV

There is something very natural about saying, “I just need to follow my heart.” We hear it often, and sometimes it sounds like good advice. After all, we know our own experiences, our desires and we usually think it is correct.

But Proverbs gives us a loving warning: we cannot always trust what our heart tells us.

• Our hearts can be sincere yet still be wrong.

• Our feelings can be strong yet still be misleading.

• We can be so convinced about something, yet we always need God's wisdom first and foremost.

Jeremiah reminds us: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” — Jeremiah 17:9

That doesn't mean we should live suspiciously of every thought or feeling we have. Rather, it means we should learn to bring our hearts before God and allow Him to search us, correct us, and lead us.

• Sometimes our heart says, “This is what I want.”But God asks, “Is this what I have for you?”

• Sometimes our heart says, “I have every right to feel this way.”But God asks, “Let Me to show you another way?”

• Sometimes our heart says, “I know exactly what is happening.”But God reminds us, “You don't see everything I see.”

That is why we need more than our own understanding.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5–6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

God tells us where to place our trust—in Him and Him alone!

• We can trust Him with the things we don't understand.

• We can trust Him with decisions we are struggling to make.

• We can trust Him with relationships that confuse us.

• We can trust Him when our emotions are pulling us in different directions.

Our hearts have been affected by sin, and Scripture is very honest about the human condition. Genesis 6:5 speaks of the thoughts of man's heart being continually inclined toward evil. David recognised his own sinful nature in Psalm 51, and Paul reminds us in Romans 3 that none of us is righteous in ourselves, our righteousness is from Jesus.

Yet the beautiful message of the Gospel is that God doesn't leave us to ourselves.

When we come to Christ, we are not simply given a new set of rules to follow. We are given the Holy Spirit, who teaches us, convicts us, guides us and helps us discern what is pleasing to God.

And that is why we must separate our feelings and emotions from God's Word. Our feelings are real, but they are not always reliable. But God's Word is ALWAYS reliable, even when our feelings change.

John gives us another important warning: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” — 1 John 1:8

This is exactly where I erred recently-when I said I do not sin because I wear Jesus' righteousness. I have been given grace by being forgiven of my sins, and therefore I do wear Jesus's righteousness, but I still do / think / say things that is wrong every day. Afterwards, I had such a strong conviction about this, that I had to kneel before God, and repent of what I said.

There is freedom in being honest before God.

We don't have to pretend that our hearts are always right. We don't have to defend every thought, justify every reaction or insist that our way is the right way (because it is not).

We can simply say: “Lord, search my heart. Show me what I cannot see. Correct me where I am wrong. Give me wisdom where I am confused. And help me to follow You rather than simply following what I feel.”

Psalm 139:23–24 gives us a beautiful prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”

That is the heart of walking wisely.

Walking wisely doesn't mean we will always have every answer. It means we know Who to ask when we don't.

So today, before making a decision simply because “it feels right,” pause.

• Pray.

• Open God's Word.

• Seek the Holy Spirit.

• And, when appropriate, listen to the counsel of mature, godly people who can speak truth into your life.

Revering God in this way, is where wisdom begins.

There is great humility in saying, “Lord, I don't trust my own feelings and understanding, but I completely trust You.”

A Prayer for Today

Father, help me not to be so confident in my own understanding that I stop listening to You. Search my heart and reveal anything in me that is not pleasing to You.

When my emotions speak loudly, help me hear Your voice more clearly. When I am confused, give me wisdom. When I am convinced that I am right, give me humility to consider that I may not see the whole picture.

Teach me to measure my thoughts, feelings and decisions against Your Word. Give me discernment to recognise what is from You and courage to turn away from what is not.

Holy Spirit, lead me today. Guard my heart from self-deception, pride and impulsive decisions, and help me walk wisely in the way You have prepared for me.

In Jesus' powerful Name I pray, Amen!