Journal Entry ~ 10/27/19

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."  - Jeremiah 17:9-10

Try as we might to point our fingers to a person or a situation in our trial, the Bible is quite clear about where the problem exists. We all suffer from the same terminal disease - no one has escaped it. We can try to fool ourselves or justify our actions, we can become masters at blaming others for our struggles, but it won’t take away the truth. There is simply no denying the hard to accept, but crystal clear message of the Bible: we are our biggest problem. 

The trial you are struggling with is because of you and only you. The difficult situation may have been brought on by someone or something else, but you remain in the trial because of the sin that lives in your deceitful heart. We are the ones who need help, we are the ones who need to change. We are the ones with an unsurrendered part of our hearts that need to be released to Him. 

Rather than look inward at the root of the problem, we try to fix the problem. Sometimes we think we can fix the problem by going after the person that’s causing the trials, or perhaps changing the situation that we think is the core of our struggle.  Sometimes we think we can solve the problem by going after the behaviors in us that need to change.  All that striving will never resolve the true issue - it may cover it up for awhile, but we will eventually become exhausted and frustrated from dancing around the issue. That exhaustion and frustration will lead us to one of two places - anger and bitterness, or fear and despair. Either way, we won’t find freedom. 

There is one place to find freedom from our trials and His name is Jesus. He can help us to see our hearts as He sees them, and release the sin we have stored in there. Keep the blame off of others this week, and humble yourself in front of the Lord, asking Him to reveal the sin you hide so deep in your heart, and you will find freedom from your trials. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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