I am currently reading Love Idol by Jennifer Dukes Lee. It will be released on April 1st and you all will truly want to read this one. You can pre-order it now (not an affiliate link).
Let’s face it, we all seek approval from various sources over the course of our life. And they all come up empty. All of them except for the one true lover of our souls – God.
But the problem does not lie with the things we seek. The problem exists within our very own hearts….
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NLT)
Our own heart lies to us, trick us, and lead us astray. And we foolishly return to depending on our hearts so the problem happens – repeatedly. We need to become stronger, wiser, more discerning and bolder so that we tell our hearts “No!” and stop the cycle of chasing empty promises.
The world will tell us to follow our hearts or chase our dreams or pursue your passions. But I am beginning to think perhaps even that is foolishness. In reading the Gospel of Matthew, I see that Christ called his disciples, and others, to only follow Him. Each of His disciples were already following their passions – fishing and/or tax collecting. Christ called them to stop following their own dreams or ideas of success and follow Him.
I listened to a song the other day and one line struck me … “Let heaven’s heartbeat move me.” That would definitely mean “moving to the beat of a different drummer”. It would be moving to the beat of the Only drummer who is able to make a difference. It would be following His heart and His alone.
When it is heaven’s heartbeat that moves me, I will stay close and follow Him alone. On the days, and there are many, when my own heart moves me, I will fall flat on my face. Every time. Following close to Him will protect me from myself and my pursuit of false saviors. Jennifer shares this wisdom ….
Sinners, saved by grace, know we need daily saving grace to keep us from falling. If we come to the end of ourselves, we need to stay there, for this is the sacred place where Christ’s daily renewal springs forth. (page 115)
And maybe that is where Lent is bringing me this season, to the Table. For each morning as I desire a piece of buttered toast or an English Muffin, I am reminded daily to stay close to Him. As I eat my breakfast of yogurt and fruit, I am reminded not to fall for false nourishment. Not to follow my heart but to follow His.
“Let heaven’s heartbeat move me.”
Follow His heart
and
His heart alone.
Check out the song, Follow Your Heart by Anthem Lights on youtube.com. You will be so glad you did.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdu7R6FwLCg?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
Today I am joining with … Three Word Wed. and Wordless Wed. and Wed. Prayer Girls and Winsome Wed. and A Little R & R and Whimsical Wed. and Wedded Wed. and Works For Me and Wholehearted Wed. and Imperfect Prose and Words of Life Wed. .
” “Let heaven’s heartbeat move me.†That would definitely mean “moving to the beat of a different drummerâ€. It would be moving to the beat of the Only drummer who is able to make a difference. It would be following His heart and His alone.” LOVE THIS! Following our own way leads us to falling on our face every time!
Lisa,I read your thoughts & then thought, may we stay on our face before Him even as we follow Him. Best place to be! So glad to read your thoughts!
Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing.
I found your blog on Book Review Diva’s Website/Blog hop.
So glad to have you stop here. Hope you come back! Have a great weekend!
the only Drummer
that IS the rhythm I want to be moved by
and none other
love.this
Thank you for your thought. I love the way you write. Beautiful!
“It would be moving to the beat of the Only drummer who is able to make a difference. It would be following His heart and His alone.” Loved this, Joanne. Yes—I want to move to the best of the Only drummer who makes a difference. And I loved how we both shared that the problem exists within our own hearts.
Love you.
I am so glad that God crossed our paths, Beth. Heart issues can be so difficult. The remedy not always easy. But may we learn on this journey of life. Which, by the way, is made a little bit easier because of friendships like yours! Enjoy your weekend away! Hugs!!!
This: “Not to follow my heart but to follow His” Yes!
Thank you for linking up at Words of Life Wednesday. I am so glad you did.
In the Bible study I’m teaching we just talked about the verse in Jeremiah that teaches that the heart is deceitful. Yet, the world tells us to follow our heart. Thank you for the reminder again that it’s Jesus’ heart we need to follow.
His heart is the only one we can trust. May He bless you as you teach!
Hi Joanne,
Nice to meet you. I’m hopping over from Emily’s IP link up. You are second person I’ve heard mention Jennifer’s new book, and talk about idols. God must be working on something in me too 😉 . I’m struck most by the concept that our hearts can erroneously try to meet true needs in deceitful ways. I often whisper to myself that verse from James that says, “Do not be deceived my brothers, every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Father of heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows” and remind myself that if God is not drifting this gift down to me then I’m being deceived. It’s so easy to lie to myself or to justify my actions if I’m not vigilant.
Thanks,
Jennifer Dougan
http://www.jenniferdougan.com
It is a wonderful book! Truly. You will be blessed to read it. It is a must read.
I so love the theme of this post. The worldly wisdom “Follow your heart” is just another lie that leads to a dead end. We must follow Him alone.
Laura – I am grateful the words resonated with you as well. You are such an encourager! I am glad we connected with each other. Have a wonderful Sunday!