Check Heart Engine
Read:
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (KJV) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
What it's speaking to me
I was raised in the "Golden" era of Disney animation. But Disney has been pumping out a certain type of song theme for decades. Whole generations of kids have been raised on songs like the ones below:
"A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (Cinderella)
"When You Wish Upon a Star" (Pinocchio)
"True to Your Heart" (Mulan)
"Go the Distance" (Hercules)
"Part of Your World" (The Little Mermaid)
"How Far I'll Go" (Moana)
"Let It Go" (Frozen)
"Try Everything" (Zootopia)
I am not knocking these songs. Some of them are absolutely legendary. But these are just a few of many songs in popular culture that communicate, in one way or another, the theme of "just follow your heart." Whatever it is, if you want it enough, if you FEEL it enough, it must be true. It must be good. And who cares what anyone else thinks about it?
That message, in so many little ways, has retuned our modern morality. Following your heart is the bright, shiny check engine light. Check your heart, and there is the answer to all things. It will tell you what to do. If you are stuck in any situation you find the least bit undesirable or uncomfortable, that check engine light pops up, and it must be right.
The only problem with this shiny new morality paradigm is that Jeremiah states the opposite. He doesn't describe a flawless check engine light. He describes a check engine light that lies. Welp, that makes for a lot less fun song and dance number.
If we can't trust our own check engine light, what do we do? We trust the heart-maker. He reads the light and can tell us if it's good or not. That is wonderful news because it means we have an eternal in-house mechanic (who doesn't upcharge!).
What it takes on our part is our trust being properly placed. We don't default to trusting our feelings, our heart, in a matter. We bring our hearts to Him in prayer, we wash them in His Word, and there we find a trustworthy answer.
What is it saying to you?
Where have you trusted your feelings over God's Word lately?What would it look like to let God "try the reins" of your heart today?
What are we going to do about it?
Before one decision today, pause and ask: "Is this my heart talking, or His Word?
