Journal Entry ~ 11/01/19

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

Our hearts are so deceitful, we cannot see how deeply we hide our sin. We are blind to the darkness that lives inside our hearts. We heap a mountain of justification on top of the darkness so we can’t see the true sin that lives underneath. We justify our angry response because we deserve to be respected. We justify our lack of forgiveness because we have been sinned against. We justify our fear because we just want what’s best for our loved ones. We hide the sin under justification, and we see our motives as pure. The things we desire are good - comfort, security, respect. And because those things are good, we think we have a right to our responses. 

Yet, we are told in scripture that we are not to live with a spirit of fear, that the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God, to put away all slander and gossip, to forgive. But our hearts justify our feelings of despair, fear, or anger - and we do it because we are focused on ourselves and what we deserve more than we are focused on others and what He calls us to do. 

The Lord searches our hearts because He wants to reveal to us where we fall short of His amazing grace. He wants us to see our hearts as He does, so He will allow our hearts to be broken wide open to reveal those blind spots to us. That’s the purpose of a trial - to show you your heart and to reveal to you the sin that exists inside. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and ask Him to reveal your sin to you, to see your blind spots, and He will exalt you. 

We are so blessed to be loved by a God who shows us grace and mercy in our sin, but He doesn’t just forgive us, He goes after our sin. We don’t just need His grace to forgive our sin, we need His grace to see our sin. And that’s what He’s doing today in your life. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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