“Follow your heart.”
How many times have you heard that one before? Like when you’re asking for advice to make a big decision.
Or, while watching cheesy Christmas movies – a frequent activity for me every Christmas season! The guidance to follow your heart is a common message in these movies. I’d never thought much of it until I heard actress (and Christ follower) Candace Cameron Bure share that she won’t say “follow your heart” in her movies anymore because, as the Bible says, the heart can be full of deceit. And because of her platform, she desires to lead people toward the truth rather than away from it.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10
The heart can also be home to pride, jealousy, selfish ambition and other sin that displeases God’s heart.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.
Proverbs 21:2
But when we’re setting vision and goals at the beginning of the year (or at any time), our natural default is to check in with our heart, right? To decide what we want the year to look like and pursue our desires.
Though it seems like the normal approach, it only seems that way because it’s the world’s way. It’s the example we’re surrounded with. But that doesn’t mean it’s right in the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2
So, if our heart can lead us astray and outside of God’s will, what should we follow?
God’s voice.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:27
How to hear God’s voice
To follow God’s voice, you first need to hear it.
God speaks to us in many ways, but the foundation for hearing His voice is through His Word and by the power of His Spirit.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Scripture (that’s God’s Word) has the breath of God on it (that’s Holy Spirit). Together, they show us the way that leads to life.
God’s Word lights your path
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Psalm 119:105
God’s Word is our guidebook for life on earth. The blueprint for how to live a life that pleases Him. It covers how to deal with pretty much any situation we face in this lifetime – from how to manage our finances to how to steward our relationships.
Unsure about which direction to go on a major decision? Go to God’s Word.
Not hearing the voice of God? Read more of His Word.
The more we read God’s Word, the more we get to know Him and the easier it is to recognise His voice when He’s speaking to us. It also helps us identify the enemy’s voice planting lies.
We see in the story of Job that God’s voice affirms rather than condemns.
We read in the book of Jeremiah that God is good and His plans are good.
We learn from Jesus in the gospel of Matthew that God stands for love, as He is love (1 John 4:8).
The Bible reveals God’s nature, heart and will. It shows us how He works and moves to help us align ourselves with Him and recognise signs of His hand at work in our own lives.
Teach me more about you, how you work and how you move, so that I can walk onward in your truth until everything within me brings honour to your name.
Psalm 86:11 TPT
God’s Spirit leads you into all truth
Receiving revelation as we read God’s Word comes with the help of Holy Spirit, who lives within us from the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. When we read the Bible, He gives us the understanding to recognise God’s truth and receive it for ourselves.
Let’s explore this more through the words of Jesus:
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 16:13
Here, Jesus is speaking to His disciples. If you’re a follower of Christ, you’re also one of Jesus’s disciples. That means these words are for you, too!
Holy Spirit is our Guide, Helper and Counsellor through all of life – the major and the mundane. It’s His voice in our ear, echoing the Father’s voice, that guides us in the way we should go.
The Apostle Paul sets an example for how to truly be led by the Spirit to direct the course of our lives. He was sensitive to Holy Spirit’s leading, listening for His voice and obeying – even when it contradicted his personal plans.
Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
Acts 16:6
And today, we see the rich fruit of Paul’s ministry, lasting through generations. With eternal impact.
But doesn’t the Bible say God gives us our heart’s desires?
Yes, it does.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
You’ll notice in this scripture that before God gives us the desires of our hearts, we must first delight in Him. That means to take pleasure in Him. In other words, we want to please God (Psalm 19:14) and seek Him above all else (Matthew 6:33).
We find out what pleases God by looking to His Word. And the more we open our hearts and minds to receive His truth, the more our hearts are transformed to reflect God’s heart. Then His desires become our desires.
So, following a pure heart that’s shaped to make us more Christlike can lead us in the right direction. But even so, there can still be seeds of sin that offend God (Psalm 139:23-24). It’s through God’s Word that our hearts are kept in check (Hebrews 4:12).
King David also follows up Psalm 37:4 with these verses:
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
Psalm 37:5-6
David encourages us to commit our ways (routines, decisions, plans) to the Lord – to do things God’s way rather than our way. He then notes that when we trust God in this, even when it doesn’t make sense, He’ll make it worth it.
So, as you set a vision and direction for your 2025, instead of following your heart, I encourage you to follow the voice of God in your life. His plans are so much better!