Several years ago I found a refrigerator item that had been misplaced to the kitchen pantry. I actually found it quite funny and began to question my four little ones.

“Ok guys, who put the milk in the pantry?”

Each of them got quiet and began nervously looking to their siblings.

“I think Chase did it.”

“It wasn’t me. Maybe it was Tess.”

“I didn’t do it!”

“Trey, was it you? I saw you eating cereal this morning.”

“It wasn’t me. I think Jack had it last.”

“Nope, not me…”

Several factors had made it clear to me that one of them was the culprit. Still the conversation went round and round as all four denied their involvement and desperately looked for an external source to blame.

It’s true that we live in a world full of lies.

But as much as we’d like to always blame an outside source, we must come to terms with the fact that we also fight the truth versus lies battle from within.

We Can Deceive Ourselves

According to Scripture, human hearts are rotten to the core, “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” (Jeremiah 17:9). Out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander (Matthew 15:19). And from the beginning of time, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5).

Our hearts, left to themselves, can quickly deceive us.

But praise God, that doesn’t have to be the end of our stories.

Praise God that He so loved the world, that He sent His son Jesus to rescue sick-hearted sinners like you and like me.

Out With the Old, In With the New

There’s no way we can muster up a new heart on our own. Only God can perform this miraculous heart transplant, taking out what is wicked, hard, and dead, and replacing it with new life that can only be found in a transforming relationship with Jesus. It’s all God –  the pursuing, the saving, and the ever conforming of our hearts to become more and more like His. By His grace we begin walking to a different heartbeat, now able to see the world and its lies in a completely different light.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” – Ezekiel 36:26

Keeping our Hearts in Check

Even after God has done His regenerative work in us, we still need daily reminders to help keep our hearts in check. God does the work, but we must continually guard our hearts by pursing more and more of His truth over the lies and sin that can so easily entangle us.

How do we do this?

Follow God’s Word. My kids have learned this key truth in Sunday School from the time they could speak some of their first words, “The Bible is God’s Word, and God’s Word is true.” It’s high time we stop believing the unstable and ever-changing conditions of our hearts. Instead, let’s be known as women who run to God’s Word to find the answers to all of life’s questions. “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5).

Follow God’s guidance through His Spirit. If you are a child of God, His Spirit lives in you! Instead of listening to the voices of the world and letting them sway the desires of your heart, start abiding in God’s Word and learn to hear His voice as His Spirit gently guides you to understanding. “But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13).

Follow wise counsel. The body of Christ is made up of leaders who have a strong foundation in God’s Word and are gifted in communicating God’s truth to others. Instead of living in isolation, reach out to godly counsel (a woman mentor, a parent, a pastor, or a biblical counselor are great places to start) who’s not afraid to tell you truth from Scripture instead of what you might want to hear. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15).

“The biblical picture is that God does the decisive work of heart transplant and heart circumcision and heart unhardening, and we are immediately participants in this miracle as conscious, intentional, willing actors renouncing the old heart, cutting away with all of the opposition we can muster the old life, and embracing the new and feeding the new tenderness of heart on God’s Word and by God’s Spirit.” – John Piper

The ways we deceive ourselves can go far deeper and have intensely more serious repercussions than a spoiled gallon of milk. Let’s begin this study by searching our hearts from within – thanking God for His transforming work in us, and owning our responsibility in our pursuit of truth over lies.

At His feet,

 

 

*Let’s talk: What lie from within are you constantly battling? Are you willing to own it and begin pursuing God’s truth over that lie, starting today (bravely commenting may be your first step to freedom!)?

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WhitneyD

WhitneyD

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