write it — Meleah Vallie

There's this phrase, that the heart is deceitful and wicked. And it's in the Bible, so I know it's true (Jeremiah 17:9). The heart leads astray. The heart does not lead to good things.

That one verse, truth of God because every word is breathed by Him (2 Timothy 3:16), it still does not always sit very well with me when it is used alone. The glory of Scripture is that it is all one story. One story, with each word true, but best understood together.

If you look before and after that, I believe you find the words that complete the story.

Just before, we learn...

their sin has been engraved upon the tablet of their heart... (Jeremiah 17:1)
their heart has turned away from the LORD... (Jeremiah 17:5)

Just after, we learn...

the LORD can heal, and we will be healed (Jeremiah 17:14)
the LORD can save, and we will be saved (Jeremiah 17:14)

And the glory of Jeremiah 31:33 is the LORD declaring, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

So yes, left to simply follow our hearts, we are led astray because their is so much sin and brokenness engraved on our hearts. And on my own, I do turn away from the Lord.

But the glory of the goodness of the Lord is that He heals. He saves. And He writes His truth on my heart. Over the places bent, broken, hurt, crooked... Over the sin done by me or against me, He speaks greater. He writes greater.

This writing of truth is a once and for all and a continual process. Once and for all, because He does it. Continual, because I forget it. I forget and choose against the glorious truth written on my heart that He has spoken and look back to the lie.

It's in this moment that my heart longs for truth in my innermost being, to know wisdom in the hidden parts of myself, to be purified, washed, to be able to hear joy and gladness...to have a clean heart created within me, to have a steadfast spirit (Psalm 51:6-10). And that clean heart created...it's the kind of creation only the Lord can do. It's a something from nothing creation. He doesn't just prop me back up. He makes me more me than ever before by infusing me with truth and wisdom that is clean, joyful and glad. To make me steadfast, not tossed around.

He gives His children a new heart! And a new spirit. He removes the heart of stone that is hardened and cold and gives us a heart of flesh that beats and is alive! He puts His very Spirit inside of us to we can walk in His truth (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

So can our hearts be wicked and deceitful? Oh yes! When sin and lies are written on them and they are unhealed, oh my goodness yes, they can lead us astray.

But is that the whole story? Do we have to stay that way? Thank the Lord, no! With His truth engraved on them and healed, we can walk in truth and in life. And our hearts, our precious hearts, become a wellspring of life! To be guarded and protected because of their great value (Proverbs 4:23).

My heart on it's own is deceitful and wicked. My heart in the hands of Christ is everything but that. I still for some crazy reason, think I know better sometimes and go off on my own. So hear me now, this is not a "follow your heart" message. But please don't just stop at the "our hearts are wicked and deceitful" message. There's more. There's hope. There's truth. There's life.

Dear sisters, let's help each other receive this truth! Let's be champions of the truth over each other! Let's together believe the truth He has written on each other...and ourselves. It's so easy to forget to cheer each other along instead of comparing. And it's so easy to believe it for another but not ourselves. Let's not settle.

As His children, He writes greater truth on our hearts. Full of life. Gladness. Joy. Empowered. Free.