One of the phrases that you hear quite commonly is to “follow your heart”, but the Bible clearly tells us that we should trust and follow God, not our own hearts. Jeremiah 17:9-10 tells us that the heart is deceitful. Even King David, who had a heart after God sinned when he followed his own heart into sin with Bathsheba. Rather than follow our own heart, we must ask God to give us a new, clean heart (Jeremiah 24:7).
What kind of heart is pleasing to God? Isaiah 57:15 shows us that God is pleased with a humble and contrite heart. He will reveal Himself to that kind of heart. He will use a humble heart.
What causes our hearts to be prideful and hard? Lying, denial, selfishness, stinginess, lack of trust in God, doubt, disobedience, and rebellion. When you doubt God’s ability to take care of you, you come against His character. When you come against God, you are walking in pride. If you truly have a relationship with God and trust Him with everything in your life, you will be humble.
When Saul was called by God, he was humble. He didn’t even tell anyone what Prophet Samuel had told him about being king. But after he became king, he started trying to please the people around him. He started trusting in man, rather than in God. When this happened, he became prideful and disobeyed God’s commands. 1 Samuel 16:14 shows us that Saul’s pride caused separation from God and caused him to be in torment. Pride will always make us feel unsettled, uneasy, paranoid, and tormenting.
God wants to give us a new heart. First, we must repent for holding on to our old heart (old ways of thinking and acting, not trusting God, limiting His power in our lives, holding on to sin). The Holy Spirit wants to make everything new. We are the ones who constantly try to mix in the old.
A new heart seeks after God, always wants to give to God, shares with others, and talks about Jesus (instead of yourself). A new heart puts itself in a lowly place (putting others before yourself and recognizing that God is using you because of His grace and not your own merit). A new heart always looks for opportunities to help others and make their lives easier and more comfortable (rather than seeking its own comfort). A new heart will make you beautiful from the inside out.
God bless you!
Pastor Sun Hui East
Oh, I completely agree that we should NOT take the world’s advice & “follow our heart”! We might as well be saying, “follow your sin nature”…
AMEN
That is a very strong statement about doubting God. I never saw it as “coming against” Him. That changes things, thank you for that perspective Pastor Sun Hui East.
I couldn’t really understand some of the things the Lord was doing in my life until this sunk in… good stuff Pastor Sun Hui East!
I don’t like reading what you wrote, but it’s accurate… Pastor Sun Hui East, your teachings are always right on! Thank you
I don’t like hearing it either, but I am the better for receiving
Amen to that!
I know this is true Pastor Sun Hui East. I appreciate you
I know that I need humility. I was raised well & taught to put others first. It’s a whole new ball game though in the professional world. Corporate America wants people to be cut-throat and aggressive, with out humility to the point of arrogance. Good post Pastor Sun Hui East.
I grew up with out the Lord in my home, my heart or my mind… the closest thing to Him was my very biased conscience that, thank God, He at least provided me. I wound up in a lot of relational trouble as I constantly “followed my heart” on very whim that it had. In my early 20’s, I found Jesus and aligned my ways with His ways. Wow, I can assure everyone, it is a lot safer to follow the One who actually knows whats going on!
I am teaching my children to be aware of the difference between “following your heart” which is really “following your flesh” instead of humbly following God. Great post Pastor Sun Hui East. My daughter got a lot out of reading it.
Amen. We parents need to be teaching and re-enforcing these truths to our children every day.
The things you mentioned are definitely what shows a prideful heart. I know that I have a lot of hidden pride, it comes out when I feel offended or mistreated. I always have to use self control to remember the Word of God and not reply in a situation like that… I have begun telling myself quietly, “let it go, you are not THAT important. I actually helps and I am learning to die to myself. Thank you Pastor
Sun Hui East.
I have always been amazed that Saul allowed himself to fall, I don’t think there is anyone else in the Bible who was handed as much as the Lord handed him. And yet, after all of that, he betrayed and became an enemy of God and of His chosen people. Thank you for teaching on this Pastor Sun Hui East.
The last think I want to do, or have my family doing, is “following their own wisdom” outside of God. That is dangerous! Thank you for another good post Pastor Sun Hui East
Couldn’t agree with you more Caleb!
This is a really good message. Many times, I have followed my heart and gotten myself into trouble. I appreciate you Pastor Sun Hui East.