Our lives are a journey toward a destination and our hearts are the compass that lead us into a specific direction. The condition of our hearts determines the type of decisions we make and ultimately determines our success in reaching the destiny that God has created for us. Our hearts have to remain on a constant heart monitor to ensure that we’re living in good spiritual health.
Throughout my faith journey, I’ve learned to check my heart as I make major decisions in life. I would not be where I am today had I not constantly put my heart on the altar to be healed, purified, and molded by God. I remember my heart being crushed by different situations and after crying out of sheer pain I would tell God how bitter, angry, and confused I was. I earnestly prayed for God to heal my broken heart because I knew my life would be a wreck and my direction wouldn’t be clear if I lived with a bad heart.
Sometimes my heart would beat so fast out of excitement, tempting me to rush and make decisions in the heat of a moment, but after praying for the issues of my heart, God would slow me down and gently let me know the right direction to take.
Some of the toughest decisions in my life were complicated by being exposed to everyone else’s opinions and issues in their hearts and the only way to find clarity was ask God to replace all the noise with his voice to lead me in the right way. I constantly prayed that my judgment, attitude, and actions would reflect the heart of God rather than my confused emotions and the imperfections of the people that surrounded me.
By experience, I’ve learned that prayer is so pertinent because if we’re left to ourselves, we have no sense of direction to make the right decisions.
This is how the Bible describes the heart of man.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9.
This explanation of the human heart is a simple, yet powerful statement that points to a harsh reality about mankind. Everyone has heard the question before, “If God exists, then why is the world so messed up?” This verse tells us that our world is in this condition because men follow their own wicked and deceptive hearts and lean on their own understanding to make decisions.
The latter part of the verse asks, “Who can know it?” and the response points to the answers to the following questions:
- Who can be trusted?
- What’s the cure to a man’s own evil heart?
- How can we be protected from the evil heart of mankind?
Who can be trusted?
Quite frankly, if the heart is as deceitful and desperately wicked as described, it means that no one can be trusted, not even ourselves. Ponder on that for a minute…
Since the heart has the ability to deceive and is capable of tricking even its owner, it’s dangerous to rely on it to direct you. I wouldn’t dare advise anyone to follow their own heart when making decisions. As a matter of fact the Bible says in so many words that we have to keep our hearts in check.
As mere human beings we can only guess people’s intentions. Even if we grow intimate with someone and learn to trust them, we should never put all of our trust in man because we are imperfect, people can change and throw you a curve ball. Man will always fail you and even if someone has never let you down, at any moment, that person can die and leave you hanging.
Only God is good and only he can be fully trusted. Trusting God can help you let down your own self-built walls to build “trusting” relationships with people, but wisdom keeps you from crossing the line and giving people what truly belongs to God. Jesus is the only one that deserves to be loved and trusted with your whole heart, soul, and mind.
What’s the cure for a man’s own evil heart?
Proverbs 4:23 says “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of life”.
Guarding our hearts is the cure for the evil within the core of our being. Our hearts are conditioned by our level of intimacy with Jesus Christ. Protecting our hearts requires us to be knowledgeable of Truth to supersede the fallen nature of the heart. As we grow closer to God (who is love) our lives are characterized by godly love. Love replaces wickedness and deception which includes greed, covetousness, jealously, envy, strife, sexual sins, and the list goes on.
Love is the key to the door of our destiny. Love is powerful to help overcome internal and external battles that steal, kill, and destroy the inheritance you have as a believer of Jesus Christ. Love is the weapon against feelings of defeat, hopelessness, insecurities, bitterness, marital issues, sexual sins, and substance abuse. Love is the answer to sin and anything that will hinder us from reaching our potential, it motivational, it’s inspirational, and it transforms us and the people around us. Love will take us where we need to go!
How can we be protected from an evil heart?
When dealing with other people, we want to be protected from the ills of their hearts. This is where spiritual discernment comes in handy. Spiritual discernment is the ability to distinguish good from evil according to the principles in the Bible. Sharpening the sense of spiritual discernment happens as we hide the Word of God in our hearts and know it like the back of our hands. As we grow in the Spirit of Discernment, even if we don’t intimately know someone or something, we pick up on vibes (the spirit behind something) and can determine if it’s pure and whether we should allow it to surround us.
Destined Initiative:
Trust God only and guard your heart by guarding your spiritual diet. Constantly pray for forgiveness and cleansings from what you’ve been exposed to in the world that will subconsciously affect you spiritually. Otherwise the spiritual heart just like the natural heart will get overwhelmed and clogged up with unhealthy substances that confuse your direction and ability to operate in excellence. Even idleness is bad for the heart, so be diligent in exercising love and grace to stay on track.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalms 51:10
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Matthew 22:37
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Psalms 1:1-3
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