-- Proverbs 28:26
It seems the prevailing idea toward planning your life in the world today is to "follow your heart."
Scripture, on the other hand, tells us the impracticality of such an idea.
Think of it like this: Consider yourself, your life, to be something of a boat floating through the waters of this world. There will be times of gentle breeze carrying you along and there will be times of gale force winds threatening to capsize your very existence.
When those storms rage, though, what is it you truly seek? Solid footing, right? You want to believe you won't be moved or shaken. You want to maintain your course and not be blown into oblivion.
When you've found a place you want to be, what do you do? You cast an anchor. And who in their right mind casts the anchor inside the boat? No one, right?
But that's essentially what trusting in your own heart is. It's casting your anchor within in the hopes that you'll not only find what you are looking for but that you'll be able to stick there once you find it.
In the meantime, the tides of life, even the softest of breezes, float you to wherever the world would take you. Before you know it, given any length of time really, you're far off course.
It's in those times that we start to say, "What happened here?"
Simply put: We weren't anchored.
But there's another degree to it, when it comes to matters of the heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?"
So more than casting an anchor inboard, your heart could be considered a liability at best -- casting a jackhammer below deck and hoping against hope it doesn't turn on.
Our hearts alone, they do more damage than good. We were created with a need to worship something. God's intention was that it would be Him.
Our hearts desperately grasp for something to fill the void within, and often bring in a whole lot of things God never intended to be in that position. While God fills a life, every other thing in creation -- left alone -- will sap a life.
Trusting in our hearts becomes a process of trusting a ravenous vacuum. It will draw us toward whatever will temporarily suffice that appetite.
So in our boat analogy, not only are you constantly being blown off course by the breezes and rolling waves, you also slow sink as your heart takes on more and more baggage, leaving gaping holes in its wake.
So, getting back to today's original verse, how do we walk wisely?
The answer comes in the follow-up verse from Jeremiah. "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind even give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."
When we cast our anchor overboard, it must land on The Rock we know as Jesus. He has known us from the beginning and He knows not only the best course for us, but the His own purpose for us through whatever trial we come against.
We can't trust our hearts. We must trust in the One who searches and fills our hearts.
So today, as you face the storm this life can be, consider strongly where you are throwing that anchor.
He will change your outlook on whatever you face.
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"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." -- Hebrews 6:20
Steady As She Goes, by Andrew Peterson
I see the thunderheads rise
In the northern sky
And my heart is sinking
In the threatening tide
'cause my portside's heavy
with the worries of life
and the worries of dying
on the starboard side
Well, I wonder, am I really
Stouthearted enough?
'Cause the ocean is rolling
and these waters are rough
There's a storm cloud brewing
In the sky above
So let my vessel be sturdy
Let my anchor be tough
'Cause the clouds are known to gather
and the wind is prone to blow
I'll keep my eyes on the horizon
Not below
And keep her steady as a river
When the wild wind comes to blow
I've already been delivered
So I'll keep her steady as she goes
Well, I shiver in the wake of the raging storm
And my rigging is tattered
And these sails are torn
Gonna cast this cargo overboard
But I ain't setting my headings
For no change in course
Though the clouds are known to gather
And the wind is prone to blow
I'll keep her steady as a river
When the wild wind comes to blow
I've already been delivered
So I'll keep her steady as she goes
So when you can't find the faith to slumber
When you're thrown by every swell
You know that you're not going under
With the captain at the helm
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