The only way you can successfully run the race God has set before you (Heb. 12:1) is by learning how to receive guidance from the Holy Spirit as you listen to your heart. Learning to be led by the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God is the most important lesson you’ll ever learn in life.

When we say, “Listen to your heart,” what “heart” are you supposed to listen to? Even in the world, people sometimes say things, such as, “I mean it from the bottom of my heart” or, “She has a big heart.” They understand that these phrases don’t refer to the physical heart, the physical organ that pumps blood throughout the body. They know there is more to a person than just the body.

The Bible teaches that man possesses a spiritual heart as well as a physical heart. In fact, there are more than 800 references in the Bible to man’s heart, and very few of them refer to the physical part of the body. Most of these references refer to the unseen center of man’s being—the inward man (2 Cor. 4:16; 1 Peter 3:4). When we say, “Listen to your heart,” we are referring to listening to your spirit, the inward man.

So Do We Ignore Our Body?

Of course, it’s true that at times, your physical senses give you information that you should listen to and heed. For instance, if you touched a hot stove, your sense of touch would tell you, “Take your hand off that stove quickly!” And you need to obey that!

But it’s important to listen to your heart, or spirit, in situations for which there may be no solution in the physical realm. Your physical senses might tell you, “Run from this problem!” Or your mind might tell you, “There’s no way out!”

But in those kinds of situations, you need to receive the Holy Spirit’s direction and stand on God’s Word. Successfully following God’s plan for your life depends on what you choose to listen to—your physical senses or the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you just listened to your physical senses or your mind, you’d eventually lose your peace and joy.

For instance, if you focused your attention on what you heard on the news, you could become depressed thinking about all the problems in the world around you. You could begin wondering, “How are we ever going to make it?”

But it doesn’t matter what your mind or your physical senses tell you! It doesn’t matter what the news media says! Regardless of what the circumstances look like, the Word of God is still true. Get quiet on the inside and begin listening to what your heart is saying, and the Holy Spirit will minister the truth of God’s Word to you.

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