PRAY OVER THIS
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10
PONDER THIS
The heart is the control center for the body. God looks into your heart and searches your heart. Then after God reviews the heart, He reveals the heart. How does He do it? He tries the reins. God allows circumstances to come into your life and sees how you react to those circumstances. Your actions don’t prove what you are, your reactions do.
Have you ever been rude to a person? You say, “Well he made me mad.” The truth is, he just revealed the anger that’s already in you. He didn’t put that rudeness in you. That rudeness was already there; all he did was push the hot button.
As time goes by, God allows circumstances to come into your life, and you may say, “Well I’m surprised at myself. I never thought I could do that.” You didn’t know your heart was deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And you didn’t know that down in that pit called the human heart were all those things. We can mask it so well.
A little girl was in the park, a dog was barking, and she started to cry. Then the dog stopped. And the mother said, “Look, don't cry darling. He stopped barking.” The girl said, “But his bark is still in him.” You may be able to control yourself in many instances, but there will come a time when it comes out and you’ll be surprised.
When was the last time you had a surprising reaction about something? What did that reveal about your heart?
What circumstances are most difficult for you to deal with? How do you react in those situations?
PRACTICE THIS
Confess to another believer the last time you reacted unexpectedly to a difficult encounter. Tell your friend what it has taught you about your heart.
LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers
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