“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.” Jeremiah 17:9-10 (MSG)

Love is in the air! It is almost Valentines’ Day, and although our hearts are filled with love for our spouses or significant others, the description of the heart in Jeremiah 17:9 is a stark contrast – “the heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful.” It is no surprise then that one of the first thing God wants from us is our heart, “…confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart…” Romans 10:9. God is the only One that can see the intent and motive of our dark and deceitful heart. “Man may look at what you say or how you look, but God goes deeper than that, He looks directly into our heart and sees the motive.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (TLB). It is useless to pretend with God because He sees who we really are and not how or what we pretend to be. Selah.

A common saying is, “follow your heart;” or “your heart will not lead you astray.” According to scripture, that is not true. Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Therefore, we are to be led by the Spirit of God – not by our heart. Yes we are born again; yes we are new creatures in Christ Jesus; yes we have asked Christ into our heart; and all of that is good and should be. However, the core of the matter is – is Christ Lord over our heart or is His Spirit just residing there. Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to lead or do we make decisions based on our heart/emotions – how we feel, what we want, what we think, our plans, our desires? At any time, because we have free will, we can silence the leading of the Holy Spirit with our own heart/emotions. The heart speaks so loudly to us that we convince ourselves that it is God co-signing on our desires. David is described as a “man after God’s heart.” 1 Samuel 13:14. Yet his heart led him astray, causing him to cry out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. When Jesus is Lord over our heart, we desire what He desires; and we want what He wants.

The enemy has disguised and transformed himself into what our heart desires – what we want; and he sounds like what we want to hear; and our heart is screaming to us – this is God. How do we combat this cunning enemy? We can learn from David and cry out for a clean heart and a right spirit. Also, Proverbs 11:15 states, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” The NIV translation states, “Victory is won through many advisers.” We need to seek counsel and be willing to receive counsel – not just defend our position. More importantly, pray sincerely – not to get God’s signature of approval, but pray for God to reveal. Pray boldly and ask God to remove the situation if it is not His will for our life. When Jesus repeatedly asked Peter if he loved Him, Peter answered Jesus, “Lord you know all things.” John 21:17. He knows, ask Him, and hear Him.