Two Voices in One Heart: Which One Are You Following?

During devotional time this morning, my wife and I got into one of those conversations that starts simple and somehow gets you thinking much deeper. We were talking about the human heart and how it can be pulled in two very different directions, toward the power of sin or toward the power of God. At one point, my wife asked me, “Why don’t you draw this out as a flow chart?”.

So I grabbed a piece of paper and started writing down what was going through my mind, with her thoughts and input shaping what I was putting on paper. And, as any good IT husband would do, I eventually gave my rough notes to ChatGPT and asked it to make them look pretty. So, here it is.

For those of you listening and not looking at the graphic, let me describe it. At the very top is a human heart, and from that heart the picture splits into two paths. On the left is the power of sin, and on the right is the power of God. The left side is darker, and the right side is brighter. The two paths start from the same heart, but they lead in completely different directions. On the left, I have temptation, desire, choice, sin, bondage, shame, fear, spiritual death, separation from God, and finally death. On the right, I have truth, faith, surrender, obedience, freedom, peace, strength, spiritual life, fellowship with God, and finally abundant life.

The more I looked at those words, the more I realized something. This isn’t just a flow chart. In many ways, it represents our life.

About three years ago, on a Sunday night at around 10 o’clock, my wife and I made a decision that completely changed our lives. Based on the prayerful advice of a pastor who is a dear friend of ours, we knew we needed to escape from the life and circumstances we had built over 25 years. We knew what we needed to leave behind, but we had absolutely no clue where we were going.

We got into our 4Runner with the essentials we needed and started driving. We weren’t driving toward a destination that we had carefully planned. We didn’t have an address waiting for us. We didn’t have a five year plan. We didn’t even fully understand why we were being led in the direction we were going. We just knew we needed to leave. And then we drove for 26 hours.

When I think about that now, it reminds me, in a very different way, of Jonah in the belly of the fish. Jonah had no control over his circumstances. He couldn’t get himself out. God was the One who moved him from where he was to where He wanted him to be. In our own way, those 26 hours felt like God was moving us, against all odds, from the home and life we had known for 25 years into a new place that He had chosen for us.

There were so many things that could have gone differently, a serious situation with our son, weather, circumstances, timing, our own fears, our own doubts, and all the practical things that could have stopped us. Any one of those things could have changed the course of that journey. But somehow, step by step, mile by mile, God made a way and got us there. Looking back now, I can see His hand in so many details that we couldn’t see at the time.

And the amazing thing is, we didn’t know the destination. We were simply trusting the One who did.

Three years later, I can see something I couldn’t see that night. God wasn’t just taking us away from something. He was taking us toward something. He was leading us toward truth.

And eventually, He led us into a body of Christ that I believe He Himself chose and orchestrated for us. That part of our story has changed my understanding of Christianity more than almost anything else. We didn’t just find a church building. We found brothers and sisters in Christ. We found people who walked with us, prayed with us, encouraged us, challenged us, corrected us, loved us, and helped us understand what it means to live life together as followers of Christ.

And through that body of Christ, we began experiencing something I would describe as abundant life. Not a perfect life. Not a life without suffering. Not a life where every problem suddenly disappeared. We still face trials. We still experience suffering. And some of the difficulties we face today are connected to choices we made in the past. There are consequences we can’t simply erase. We can’t go back and rewrite those chapters.

But there is something that has changed. We don’t have the slightest doubt about the power of God.

That is probably one of the greatest lessons I have taken from the last three years. Faith doesn’t always mean knowing where you’re going. Sometimes faith means knowing what you need to leave behind, even when you don’t know what lies ahead. Sometimes faith means getting into the car and driving through the night, trusting God with every mile. Sometimes faith means saying, “Lord, I don’t understand this, but I believe You are leading us.”

And that’s where this flow chart becomes very personal for me. The power of sin says, “I want my way.” The power of God says, “Lord, Your way.” Three years ago, we didn’t have all the answers. We didn’t know where the road was going to take us. But we were willing to surrender our need to know everything. And today, when I look back, I can see God’s fingerprints all over that journey.

It reminds me of Deuteronomy 30:19, where Moses says, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”

When I think about that verse alongside this flow chart, I don’t think choosing life means making one big decision and then everything becomes easy. I think it means choosing God again and again, especially when we don’t understand. We choose faith when we are afraid. We choose surrender when we want control. We choose obedience when our desires are pulling us in another direction. And sometimes we simply choose to take the next step because we trust the One who knows the destination.

That’s what I see in our story. We knew what we were escaping, but we didn’t know where we were going. God knew. And somehow, through circumstances we could never have orchestrated ourselves, He brought us to a place where He had already prepared a body of Christ for us.

And that’s why I don’t look at this flow chart as a sermon. I look at it as a reminder of our own journey. I see our choices. I see our mistakes. I see the consequences of some of those choices. But I also see God’s grace. I see truth. I see surrender. I see obedience. And I see a God who was faithful even when we didn’t understand what He was doing.

Our journey isn’t over. We still have trials. We still have suffering. We still have things we are praying about. But after everything we’ve experienced, there is one thing I can say with complete confidence, I don’t have the slightest doubt in the power of God.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds. I don’t know what the next chapter will look like. But I know who holds it.

And maybe that’s the encouragement I want to leave with you today. You may know exactly what you need to leave behind, but have no idea where God is taking you. You may be standing at a crossroads, wondering what the next step looks like. You don’t necessarily need to know the entire destination. Sometimes you just need enough faith to take the next step.

Because the power of sin pulls us toward ourselves, toward “I want my way.” But the power of God invites us to say, “Lord, Your way.”

And looking back at that 26 hour drive three years ago, I am so grateful we chose to trust Him. Today, by God’s grace, I still want to choose life. I still want to choose His way. And even when I don’t understand the road ahead, I want to keep trusting the One who does.

This has been another few minutes from A Fisherman’s Faith. Love you all in our Lord’s love, and until next time, may God bless you and keep you.