Good advice.

I would love to claim these thoughts as my own; however, they come from Todd - Year Team leader and pastor here.

I emailed him the following:

If the heart is deceitful above all things (jeremiah 17.9) - how do we make decisions that aren't clear cut?!

This was his response:

Society says, "Go with your heart" or "Follow your heart." It is one of the
great lies. However, like any lie from the enemy, there is an element of
truth in there that has been perverted.

What I think is a MUCH better filter for discernment is Colossians 3:15-16:

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were
called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

So you're not trusting your heart...you're trusting the peace of Christ. If
a decision is hypothetically made, is there peace that comes with it. That
word 'rule' in the Greek is probably better translated 'referee.' So I like
the image, "Let the peace of Christ referee in your heart."

Second, Paul is reminding his reader they have been called to one body. How
does your decision sit with the community of believers around you? This is
why it is important to have people speak the HONEST truth to us...not just
tell us what we want to hear.

Last, how does it align with the word of God? It drives me crazy when I hear
people say, "God doesn't speak to me." He's given us an entire book of words
through which He desperately wants us to seek Him and know Him. So does a
decision line up with Scripture?

Trusting your heart is emotion and feeling. What happens when the feeling
changes? Trusting your heart rests entirely upon ONE individual's moral
compass. Not good.

Discernment is filtered through 1) the peace of Christ, 2) community and 3)
the Word.