Jeremiah 17:5-10
5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
It is amazingly easy to rationalize our behavior. How many times have I purposely ignored warning signs or created flimsy excuses to okay my sin, and later I look back and realize how stupid my decision was. As the Lord says, "the heart is deceitful above all things" (verse 9). When we allow ourselves to be fooled by our heart, we end up forsaking God and being put to shame. The cure is to trust in the Lord (verse 7) rather than trust ourselves (verse 5), for then we have an all-knowing guide who can see through the deceptions of our heart.
Lord, help me to trust You and to see through the deceits of my desires.
5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
It is amazingly easy to rationalize our behavior. How many times have I purposely ignored warning signs or created flimsy excuses to okay my sin, and later I look back and realize how stupid my decision was. As the Lord says, "the heart is deceitful above all things" (verse 9). When we allow ourselves to be fooled by our heart, we end up forsaking God and being put to shame. The cure is to trust in the Lord (verse 7) rather than trust ourselves (verse 5), for then we have an all-knowing guide who can see through the deceptions of our heart.
Lord, help me to trust You and to see through the deceits of my desires.