Is It God, Or Just Me?
There are moments when the hardest question isn’t whether we want something. It’s whether what we want is actually from God. Maybe it’s a relationship, a job, a move, or a financial decision. You feel strongly about it, but you’re still wondering: Is this God leading me, or is this just me?
In Is It God, Or Just Me?, Pastor Mike O’Connell taught from Jeremiah 17 about the difference between believing God exists and trusting Him enough to obey Him.
Your Heart Is Not the Final Authority
Culture often tells us to follow our hearts, but Jeremiah gives us a more cautious picture. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.”
That doesn’t mean every desire is bad. God created us with desires, emotions, hopes, and preferences. The problem comes when what we want becomes the final authority in our lives. Just because something feels right doesn’t automatically mean it aligns with God’s Word. Feelings can tell us what we want, but they were never meant to replace God’s voice.
What You Trust Shapes Your Direction
Jeremiah 17 also points to a deeper issue: trust. Most of us would say we believe God is faithful. The harder question is whether we trust Him enough to obey Him when obedience feels uncomfortable.
That can show up in very practical ways. We may believe God provides but still struggle to trust Him with our finances. We may believe He knows what is best but hold tightly to a relationship, opportunity, or plan because letting go feels too risky. Unbelief doesn’t always look like rejecting God. Sometimes it simply looks like trusting something else more than Him.
Desire Isn’t the Problem
Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” It can be easy to focus on the second half of that verse and miss the first. Delight comes first. As we grow closer to God, He begins shaping what we want.
Pastor Mike shared how that happened in his own life through a series of small yeses. Serving, studying Scripture, showing up faithfully, and eventually stepping into ministry were not all things he would have chosen for himself at the beginning. But over time, what God was asking of him became something he wanted too.
The goal isn’t to get God to follow our desires. It’s to allow our desires to follow Him.
Four Questions to Help You Discern
So how do you tell whether a desire is from God or simply something you want? Start by asking whether it aligns with God’s Word. His Spirit will never lead you in a direction that contradicts Scripture. Then ask what the desire is producing in you. Is it growing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, or pulling you away from those things?
It’s also worth asking whether you’re open to godly counsel. A surrendered heart stays teachable, even when the answer isn’t what we hoped to hear. And finally, can you genuinely surrender the outcome? Can you honestly pray, God, I want this, but I want Your will more?
Who Gets the Final Say?
Underneath every decision is a bigger question: Who is on the throne of your heart? It’s possible to believe in Jesus and still struggle to surrender certain parts of our lives to Him. We can want His forgiveness while resisting His correction, or want His blessing while still holding tightly to our own way.
Following Jesus means learning to trust His leadership one decision at a time. Jeremiah 17 gives us a picture of a tree planted by water, with roots deep enough to stay green and fruitful even when heat and drought come. Trusting God doesn’t mean hard seasons disappear. It means our lives are rooted somewhere deeper than our circumstances or emotions.
Start With What You’re Holding
If you’re trying to discern whether something is from God, start with an honest conversation with Him. Where have you been trusting yourself more than God? What are you holding back from Him? Is there an area of obedience you’ve been avoiding?
Bring those answers to God and let Him have the final say. A surrendered heart doesn’t mean you stop having desires. It means your desires no longer get to be in charge.
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