(Jer 7:24) "Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.
Some people say to follow your heart. But that can be dangerous! The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9 that "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? If you follow your heart you might deceive yourself into something you really want but is not of the Lord. (Pro 14:12) There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Jeremiah described the children of Israel as following the counsels and dictates of their evil hearts. And what direction did it take them? Backward, and not forward.
Do you remember the old ‘70’s song with the line, “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right”? That might have been a number one hit but the message of that line was really a bomb. There are many things that might feel right but are so wrong. The Bible speaks of the “passing pleasures of sin” (Heb 11:25). Sin has pleasure but only for a short measure. I’m sure Eve really enjoyed that apple (or pomegranate or whatever it was!). It was so good she gave it to Adam for an afternoon snack. But that good taste didn’t last long. God showed up and they were hiding in the bushes with sour stomachs.
I like the story of Saul on this. Samuel told Saul to wait for him for seven days. But Saul grew impatient because of the threat of the Philistines. He couldn’t wait for Samuel who was taking his time. Samuel finally showed up and asked Saul why he didn’t comply with his wishes. . . . And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 "then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.' Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering." (1 Sam 13:11-12) You see, he felt “compelled.” It was a false impulse. And it cost him his kingship.
I had a woman tell me she was divorcing her husband after 17 years of marriage. Originally she felt the Lord tell her she was to marry this man who was not a Christian. She knew what the Bible said about being unequally yoked (2 Cor 6:14-18). But she felt she was to marry him and that he would come to the Lord. He never did come to the Lord and remained very antagonistic to the faith. After their child’s high school graduation they were divorced.
The Bible says “ . . . do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God . . . (1 John 4:1) When we get an impulse we are to pray about that suggestion and see if it is from the Lord or from our own desires. Satan can be crafty and use our desires as his bait (2 Cor 11:3; James 1:13-16). Be prodded by the Lord and be careful of being pushed by your impulses. (John 16:13) "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth . . .
Louie