Follow Your Heart

“Profound joy of the heart is like a magnet that indicates the path of life. One has to follow it, even though one enters into a way full of difficulties.”

—MOTHER TERESA

In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).

—Ephesians 3:12

You are probably familiar with the statement, “To thine own heart be true.” One of the ways we make our lives so complex is when we veer off course and ignore what is really important to us. If we put aside our own hearts and follow what the world thinks we should and ought to do, we will find ourselves unfulfilled and empty. Life will be tasteless. We will go through the motions, but nothing will satisfy us. What do you want out of life? What do you believe God’s will is for you? Some people spend so much time meeting what they think their obligations are that they don’t even know what they want. They never ask themselves because they figure it is way out of reach.

When I ask what you want out of life, I am not talking about selfish desire; I am talking about heart desire. There is something deep in your heart God has planted there. Everyone is called and equipped to do something, and that includes you! It takes boldness to follow your heart instead of the crowd. When God called me to teach His Word, it was not popular at all for women to do that. I lost my friends, and even family members rejected me as a rebel who was deceived and misguided. I didn’t have a very good reputation among the people in our community, but then, neither did Jesus. It is still a wonder to me that I found the courage to follow God rather than the crowd. I think I was so fed up with “life as usual,” I was willing to do something radical if it took that for me to feel satisfied inside.

It is certainly not simple to have dreams and visions in your heart that you ignore and constantly try to push down while you simultaneously try to make yourself enjoy doing something you actually hate. You might think it will complicate your life if you end up making some people angry in order to follow your heart, but the truth is, following your heart is absolutely necessary if you ever really intend to enjoy a simple life of hearty obedience to God.