Feelings are bad guides. When we rely on our feelings like a navigator does a compass, we're bound to go left and right, back and forward, turn around in a spiralling motion, and end up somewhere we don't really want to be in. Seriously, feelings are bad guides.
The Heart Is a Bad Guide
Popular opinion says "follow your heart." I've heard that said to me many times, and perhaps others have heard it more than I have ever. Sadly, this often-heeded advice is a no-no according to the Bible. And why is that? It's because our heart cannot be trusted.
In Jeremiah 17:9, God says,
"The heart is more deceitful than all things and desperately wicked; who can understand it?"
Many of us claim to understand our hearts better than any other; many of us believe that we know our hearts very well. If we're honest enough, we know that our hearts cannot be relied on as a guide or a compass. We cannot let our feelings dictate what we do.
When Feelings Lead
I've known a number of people who are led by their emotions. I, for one, have experienced letting my feelings dictate what to do. The problem is that feelings and emotions are easily swayed. Our hearts aren't really invincible.
Here are some dangers of letting our emotions or our hearts lead.
1. We Might End Up Going Nowhere
"A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." (James 1:8)
A man who relies on his heart or feelings will not go anywhere. He will be unstable in his ways, in the same way his emotions change. How can I say this?
It's because emotions change very quickly. People, even if not suffering from bipolar disorder, tend to have their moods or feelings change. This moment you're on fire for God, the next moment you're not, especially after a trial.
2. We Will End Up Hopeless
"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? ..." (Psalm 43:5a)
When our souls, or emotions and hearts, are downcast, we'll end up feeling hopeless and in distress. Even Samuel, that great man of God before David ruled as king, faced depression after a sad time. It took God Himself to shake him loose from his mourning.
"The Lord said to Samuel, 'How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from ruling over Israel? ..." (see 1 Samuel 16:1)
Thankfully, God gave him a reason to get up.
The Solution to Emotional Woes
Friends, let us not trust in our wavering emotions. Our feelings are unstable, no matter how strong we think we are. As humans, we still have the tendencies to lie, take back what we said, and change our minds (see Numbers 23:19). Only God is stable and steadfast no matter what the situation brings.
Let us put our faith and trust in Him no matter what our emotions tell us.
"My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26)
