Jeremiah 17:9 says “ The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?"
God knows our hearts. The "heart" of a person includes one's thoughts, feelings, and what makes one "tick". Our hearts are notoriously sinful. Scripture clearly indicates that this sinful nature is present within us before we are even born! (Psalm 51:5) Since we are sinful from birth there is only one solution; a new birth is required! Jesus says "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again." (John 3:6-7) Without Jesus our hearts are not just sinfully diseased, they are not even beating -- they are spiritually dead. However this verse also applies after we have received Christ. You see our hearts continue to be plagued by the sinful nature that we were born with, to not be mindful and careful of this can lead to great pitfalls of deceit from our hearts. The simple fact that we still reside in these corrupt fleshly vessels is reason enough to know that we have to guard ourselves against the workings of a deceitful heart. Praise be to God that through Jesus Christ we have been blessed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, oh blessed Holy Spirit!! who is with us and in us to do exactly what is impossible for us according to this verse to "know our hearts", only He can reveal the innermost workings of our hearts and expose them to the marvelous cleansing light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Praise Jesus!!
Amen
