“Make decisions from the heart rather than from our emotions.” This statement was part of my Bible reading this morning in II Corinthians 5. The Holy Spirit resides in our heart and our heart is what is eternal. Satan has a very devious way of often confusing one’s decision making using emotions to drive it rather than decisions from the heart. The more I have begun to live knowing I’m a new creation, the more awake I’m becoming to the differences between the two of these.

My mom use to tell me to wait three days in order to act upon important decisions. If the decision is the same in 3 days, act on it. If emotions are driving the decision, you will vacillate a good deal in 3 days. It is then you don’t want to make the decision. I can easily see the wisdom in this today. Our heart doesn’t change its mind if we allow ourselves the time to meditate on this.

Last winter I was contacted by an educational consulting firm in Montana. I know the director fairly well since she had started her career in Idaho. She contacted me in January asking if I’d consider working with a district there. As we talked I told her I’d pray about it. In March she contacted me again asking if I’d prayed and what I had thought about it. Well, truth be known, I hadn’t prayed and hadn’t given it any amount of thought. I just didn’t want to do it–driving long distances in Montana during the winter months? From March to May I did pray about it each day asking God for His leadership. What I found amazing was that the idea of not doing it never entered my heart. My emotions vacillated often. When I went to check it out in July I could see then the confirmation of my heart’s steadfastness in knowing I was to do this. Even now I have to remind my emotions that they are not in charge of me–God is and I don’t know that through my emotions. I know that through faith/trust in the stability of God’s Holy Spirit in my heart. Yes, winter is coming, but God is in charge of winters too.