Is it Dangerous to Follow Your Heart?

Over the past week, I've read posts by Christian bloggers warning against following your heart or your passions.

It really got me thinking. Because, when seeking God's purpose for them, I encourage women to listen to their hearts and passions.

It made me wonder if I might be leading people astray. And that's the last thing I want to do!

Ultimately, I decided the answer is neither Yes or No. Because the answer depends on the context.

CAUTIONS

Following our hearts can be dangerous.

Our hearts are tied up in our emotions.

And our emotions can turn on a dime.

If we blindly act on emotions, we set ourselves up for failure.

When I'm talking about your heart, I'm talking deeper than emotions. I'm talking about your heart's desires. What you crave and long for, down deep.

Pay attention to those longings.

Following our hearts can be selfish.

In our humanity, we're often me-focused. (What's in it for me, right?) We're also called to love others. Before acting on your heart's desires, I encourage you to stop and consider how what you're considering might affect others.

WHAT GOD DESIRES FOR US

God places desires in our hearts based on who He created each of us to be.

The Lord's given each of us a unique personality, gifts, passions, and experiences that shape who we are. These things penetrate our hearts and shape our desires, too.

We feel strongly about things that are in alignment with our gifts, passions and experiences. That's His intention. He wants us to heed the deep desires that grow from them.

If we want to follow the path God has for us, He doesn't want us to make snap decisions.

He doesn't want us to make decisions based solely on how we feel.

He doesn't want us to disregard others.

What does He want?

He wants us to pay attention to what we sense in our hearts because He's placed His desires there.

He wants us to prayerfully consider whether our desire is of Him.

He wants us to ask Him for discernment and read His word to be sure our desires are in line with scripture.

Most of all, He wants us to thrive, using who He's shaped us to be to benefit everyone we encounter.

What has God placed in your heart?