Daily Devotionals

PUT GOD IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT Week 1: Monday

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9

You have probably heard the phrase "follow your heart." This is what the world teaches us. The world teaches us to be in the driver's seat of our lives and take control. Scripture teaches us a different way. You see, Scripture warns us that our hearts cannot be trusted because we have all been impacted by sin. When we understand this truth, we can better let go of control and trust God to guide our lives instead of our hearts.

Jeremiah 17 warns against putting trust in human strength. The prophet Jeremiah writes in this chapter, "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord" (verse 5). He explains that those who rely on human strength and who turn from the Lord do not have hope for the future. The reason why those who rely on human strength have no hope for the future is that all human hearts have been deceived by sin. Jeremiah put it this way, "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked" (verse 9). Our hearts deceive us. They lead us astray. They take us in directions we do not want to go, which leads toward pain and destruction. 

Instead of following our hearts that are deceitful and wicked, there is a better way. Jeremiah explains in this passage of Scripture that instead of turning to humans, whether that means other people or relying on ourselves, we can turn to God. He writes, "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence” (verse 7). According to Jeremiah, these people who trust God and place their confidence in Him over other people are "like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water” (verses 7-8). These people grow and prosper because they look to God for guidance and trust Him to lead. 

We have two options today: we can trust humans, or we can trust God in the driver's seat. One way leads to hurt and destruction, and one way leads to life. Our human hearts are deceptive, and they lead us astray. God never will. Will you place Him in the driver's seat today?

Moving toward action

Write down Jeremiah 17:9 several times in a notebook or journal. As you write the words in this verse, reflect on the truth that our hearts are deceitful and often lead us astray. Commit to turning to God and putting Him in the driver's seat of your life. He is trustworthy and will never lead us astray.

Going Deeper

Going Deeper - Jeremiah 17:1-10

"The sin of Judah
is inscribed with an iron chisel-
engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts
and on the corners of their altars.
2 Even their children go to worship
at their pagan altars and Asherah poles,
beneath every green tree
and on every high hill.
3 So I will hand over my holy mountain-
along with all your wealth and treasures
and your pagan shrines-
as plunder to your enemies,
for sin runs rampant in your land.
4 The wonderful possession I have reserved for you
will slip from your hands.
I will tell your enemies to take you
as captives to a foreign land.
For my anger blazes like a fire
that will burn forever."

5 This is what the Lord says:
"Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.

7 "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.

9 "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve."