Go with What You Know

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9


"Go with what you know." This is what the Lord has been teaching me lately. Interestingly, it is a principle that has applied in every situation in which I have been called on for counsel lately. Go with what you know... It's very simple, really, and yet my failure to fully understand this principle seems to be at the heart of every struggle, and certainly at the heart of every worry.

The problem is this: I am human. Not only that, I am a woman! I am prone to emotion, often letting my emotions get the best of me, being carried away by my feelings...! So here is the thing I am learning - my feelings will carry me far away from the truth if I do not carefully guard my heart and walk confidently in the faith which I profess.


This should not be surprising. The Bible tells us it will happen: "the heart is deceitful...". Just feeling something "in my heart" doesn't make it right. In fact, I think that may be the root of most sin: following the heart. We use that phrase, "just following my heart," to justify every irresponsible behavior, from men and women who leave their spouses, to parents who neglect their children so they can follow their own dreams.


This "go with what you know" principle, I'm finding, is really the key to daily living. On a most basic level, it is the key to eating more healthy: I may feel like single-handedly downing a dozen KrispyKremes, but if I "go with what I know," I can save myself the misery that follows the dozen doughnuts AND the months of exercise it will take to counteract them!

On a spiritual level, it's the key to experiencing God's peace in my life. If I go with my feelings, my days will be plagued by things like worry, laziness, self-indulgence, and anxiety. But if I will simply "go with what I know," what I know is that the God I serve is powerful, and His grace is sufficient.

So let me encourage you today: Go with what you know!

Just a thought...