A Biblical Study of The Human Condition
Heavenly Father, I ask for Your wisdom and for Your understanding as I study Your word. Speak to my heart and soul, so that I may know You better. In Jesus' holy name I pray. Amen
The Condition of the Human Heart
What condition is your heart in? It’s not easy to tell because we can’t examine our own hearts or the hearts of others, it’s impossible. The Bible does tell us the general condition of the human heart, “more deceitful than anything else” and unable to be understood. This is why the world is in the condition it’s in. God didn’t bring about the horrible things of this world, mankind did in our fallen state, every bad thing is a result of the sin curse. Everyone has a choice and more people than not choose to follow their hearts instead of Jesus Christ.
How God Knows Us
When Samuel was instructed by God to find the next king (David), the Lord told him not to assume based on appearance because we only see what is visible. God sees what’s in the heart. The person who looks the most “good” could be an unsaved soul who is completely lost in a life of unrepentant sin and hatred for God. Samuel was looking for a man with great stature, good looks and strength. But the Lord chose David, a youth, not yet a man. Not the type of person our hearts and minds would lead us to pick for a mighty king. But God knew the heart of David, He knew that David would submit to His Lordship and that David had a heart for Him.
Outward Appearance Can Deceive
We deceive ourselves and deceive others, more than we are willing to admit. We’re so blinded by our heart’s deception that we quickly fall into thought-patterns and practices that are detestable to God. We work so hard to try seek approval for our sins from God, by deceiving our own minds, becoming self-righteous haters of Truth. The scribes and Pharisees played the religious part very well in the public eye, but their hearts were spiritually blind. They were self-righteous and greedy, jealous of Jesus because of their pride. Jesus could read their thoughts instantly. God cannot be deceived, no matter how hard we might try.
Even God’s Children Fall Victim
Even Christians can be fooled by our own hearts. King David who was filled with the Holy Spirit (
Trust Your Heart to Jesus
We’ve all heard sayings like, “follow your heart” or “trust your instincts”. The Bible tells us it’s foolish to follow our own heart’s desires, God convicts our hearts all the time. How you respond indicates your relationship with the Lord. The Christian who’s walking closely with the Lord realizes their mistake, repents and asks the Lord for forgiveness — and just like David, is forgiven. We must commit our hearts to the Lord, loving Him whole-heartedly and never trust our hearts alone. Jesus is the only guide we should truly follow and doing so will keeps us walking the straight path with Him. The closer you walk with the Lord, the closer your heart will be to His and the more the desires of your heart will match that of God’s desires.
Final Words
Ask God to reveal your heart to you, ask Him to show you how you can walk closer to Him today and everyday. If you love the Lord with all your heart and you’ve sinned badly. Come to Him and confess what you’ve done, ask for His forgiveness and He will forgive you. The same goes for anyone today who doesn’t currently know Jesus Christ. If you feel a stirring in your spirit, an overwhelming urge to find out more about Jesus, then don’t wait, seek Him now. Repent and confess your sins to Him and ask Him to take control of your life, submit to His Lordship and love Him with all your heart. We’re all going to die and we don’t know when, so now is your chance to accept God’s gift of salvation and eternal life. Learn more about Jesus and what He did for you and I.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your mercy and forgiveness, for the salvation that is only found in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Search my heart and reveal to me all the unpleasing things I do. I don’t want to live in self-righteousness, I want to live in You today and always. In Jesus’ holy name I pray, Amen.