Thursday Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-11
Key Verse: Jeremiah 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?
Devotion:
If you are going to trust in your own wisdom and righteousness to try and work your way to heaven, you are going to be in for a big disappointment. No matter how hard each one of us tries to make ourselves look good and seem right, we will never be able to convince God. We may be able to fool all those around us into believing that we are a different person, but we can never do that to our God who sees right through our pretences! The only thing we will ever succeed at is making ourselves look good for that moment!
If, on the other hand, we are willing to trust in the Lord and to make our source of wisdom and righteousness Him, we will be able to do so much more. As soon as we let go of our own might and take on the might of God, we leave behind the worldly things and take on a new life in His grace and mercy. Letting go of your world may well be the hardest thing you can do but it certainly will be the best thing! We do not have the strength to fight against Satan or against kings and queens – but with God fighting on our side we suddenly take on a whole new might!
Our own might will always give in to world things because we are brought up in this world. It will seem like the whole world will show you that it is right and you will follow on... because it seems right at the time! All it takes is for us to think that we are in love for us to realise that we do not actually know our own hearts. It is only God who can see into our hearts and release us from our burdens. It is only God who can see past our misty eyes and guide us to the right way. If we are going to want to follow Him, then we are going to have to stick close to Him otherwise our misty eyes will lose sight of Him before we can figure out which way He is trying to lead us! It may not be an easy walk that He is taking us on so we may well have to work at it to keep up, but our rewards for walking with Him will be more than we can have imagined...
Points to Ponder:
What do you regard as your strengths?
How often have you been led astray by your heart?
