Jeremiah 16-17, Colossians 4, Psalm 150
Jeremiah 17: 9-10 (ESV)
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
sick; who can understand it? “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.”
Verses 9 and 10 from the prophet Jeremiah tells us not to
trust your own heart and only trust in God. In the earlier verses, Jeremiah
says you cannot trust people, and if you cannot trust people how can you even
trust yourself. If we follow the dictates of our heart as the key to happiness,
we will not find it. The people of Judah followed their heart’s desires and
turned away from God, which Jeremiah saw during his lifetime. From watching the
people of Judah turn away from God, Jeremiah concludes that following your
heart is not a good thing. God tells Jeremiah that he searches, tests, and knows
the heart and mind of every person. Pastor David Guzik remarks in his bible
commentary on verse 10 that, “It is wise to trust what God says about us more
than what we think or feel about ourselves.”
God made us. God planned us. God thought of us before we
even entered our mother’s womb. God knows us best. And God will judge us, have
mercy on us, and love us even when we cannot even love ourselves. I know for
myself that I have deceived myself into thinking that God doesn’t pay attention
to me, he doesn’t know how I feel, and what is really in my heart. And time and
time again, God has shown me that he does me know me inside and out. God knows
what I like and what I don’t like even better than I do myself. God’s taste in
all things is definitely better than my own preferences, since I often choose
things for the most foolish of reasons. So now I always check with Holy Spirit
when I need to make a choice, always asking the question, “What choice does God
want me to make?” And God is always right, even when the answer given doesn’t
make sense. God has a plan for my life and if I just follow it instead of
stubbornly clinging to my owns, my life runs so much better and is so much calm
and peaceful.
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