Happy Valentine's Day!
"Trust your heart" is a phrase we often hear and read on social media. We may even accept it as truth, but you might be surprised that God's Word does not advocate it.
Proverbs 28:26 reads, "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered."
When we say we trust in our heart, we say we have confidence in ourselves, feel secure, and have our hopes set there.
Really? Think about your heart for a moment. Your heart is the seat of your emotions. Are they consistent? Have you ever been deceived or let down by them? Where might it lead you if you followed your heart in every circumstance?
The verse is also referring to your heart as your mind. Do you always understand the situations you face? Do you always have the answers? Hardly.
With this short consideration, I think we'd agree that our emotions and thoughts are unreliable guides for life. So, to trust our hearts is unwise.
What is wise? To walk with skill and confidence in God and His Word is much safer and more reliable than our emotions and ideas.
And what is the promise of the Proverbs 28:26? "He shall be delivered."
When we say we trust our hearts, we expect our hearts to deliver us from our problems, which is a misplaced expectation. Our hearts cannot deliver us. Most usually, they lead us into misunderstanding and emotional upset.
However, God repeatedly tells us to trust Him. He is our deliverer, shield, and protector, guiding us into truth and delivering us from evil through the work of the Spirit and His Word.
When someone says, "Trust your heart," I hear warning signals because my Bible tells me my heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. I know it to be self-focused and rarely spiritually guided.
So, I repeat a different truth. Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Where do you place your trust?
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