“Follow your heart.” It’s a popular saying. And why not? It appeals just about any person. But the thing is… I know my heart. My heart has led me into trouble. My heart yearns for things that are destructive. My heart is indecisive; it’s fickle; it runs off like a little child while my mind shouts its name in rebuke. So what I am to do about my heart when it gets me in trouble? My heart is blind. So don’t tell me to follow my heart, because my heart has no clue where it’s going.

God tells us “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” I need a cure for my dark heart. I need someone else to lead it. Man cannot cure it, money cannot lead it, romance cannot satisfy it, praise cannot lift it up, power cannot sustain it, but Christ can heal it.

We look at the outward appearance of a person, but the Lord looks at a heart. It’s so important to guard your heart above all else, because it is the wellspring of life. If I let my heart roam around in pursuit of being liked or desired or admired, I will find no rest. There are many in this world who are restless. Without restraint, my heart will run after shiny things and pretty girls, and I will be left exhausted and unfulfilled. Jesus says “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the kingdom” which basically means blessed are those who are restrained—those whose power is under control—for they did not run wild after their heart’s desire, and because they have resisted the world and its pleasures, they will inherit something far greater. If I let my heart run wild, I would be like a kid playing in a mud pit when his father is offering him a vacation at the beach. I need Jesus to lead my heart, because I am aimless without him. We are sheep; all that matters is which shepherd we follow. Is your shepherd gentle and humble in heart? Or is he a wolf dressed in shepherds clothing?

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9) God is looking for hearts to follow Him. So let’s stop following our own silly little hearts and let someone else lead us.