Who Can Understand It?

“The heart is deceitful among all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve” Jeremiah 17:9-10

I am constantly amazed that no matter how deeply we walk with Jesus our heart can mislead us and misguide us.  It seems every day I'm reconsidering something I said to someone I love.   Each morning I include in my prayers to settle my emotions from the previous day and night.  The question is asked in Jeremiah, ‘Who can understand it?’ The answer is that God is the only one who can truly understand our heart. He understands when it has been broken...He understands when our dreams have been dashed...He understands when we are walking in such fear we almost seem paralyzed.  He understands what motivates our words and actions, both good and bad. Through His understanding He comforts, convicts, loves and sustains our hearts with His amazing grace.

But He also understands the bitterness of our hearts. He understands when our hearts carry anger and entitlement. He understands when our hearts are closed towards a person or a situation. He invites us to bring those heart feelings to Him for repentance and freedom from them. God does not expect our feelings to be perfect but He does invite us to bring our questions and emotions to Him in humility and honestly. ‘We are never completely blameless in any conflict. We can’t fix others, but we can evaluate our own hearts and repent...Asking questions and taking time to understand our feelings begins the process of allowing God to do His transforming work in our hearts. If we don’t acknowledge the hurt or the hate, we can’t move on to the healing.’ Jeremiah, Daring to Hope in an Unstable World, p. 104-105.

Melissa Spoelstra gives us specific ways to allow God the process of softening our hearts and settling our emotions. She challenges us to ask God to help us understand our feelings. She encourages us to seek wise counsel to help us draw out our heart issues. She instructs us to then repent and confess our feelings to God. If we will surrender our sinful hearts to Him He offers us a new heart...a softened heart like the heart of Christ.