man's feet on beach with heart in the sand

Heart Problems

In Daily Devotional by Kirk Giles

Theme of the Week: The Heart

Bible Verse: “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable – who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-14

When I was about ten years old, we received a call late at night to tell me that my grandfather had just had a heart attack. By the time we arrived at the hospital, he had already passed away. This was my first experience with someone having physical heart problems. It showed me how much a bad physical heart can impact our life.

In our Scripture reading today, the prophet Jeremiah describes how our hearts are more deceitful than anything else. This is such an intense statement. The word also means “fraudulent.” Have you ever heard someone say, “Follow your heart”? If the heart is more deceitful than anything else, why would we want to follow it? According to the Bible, our hearts have become so wounded, scarred, and calloused from sin, and we often do not even realize it.

In Jeremiah 17:5-8, we get a description of how a healthy heart and a deceitful heart lead us. The person who has a heart that trusts in the Lord is blessed. You become like a tree planted by water. You flourish and thrive and produce fruit with your life – no matter what the circumstances are. But the deceitful heart trusts in human ideas, answers, and desires more than they do in God. The Bible says this type of person dwells in the parched places in the wilderness. Your deceitful heart is defrauding you.

Next time, before you follow your heart, ask yourself if there is any chance your heart is deceiving you and leading you to a parched place.


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About
Kirk Giles
Kirk Giles is the co-lead pastor of Forward Church in Cambridge, ON. He was formerly the President of Impactus (when it was known as Promise Keepers Canada). However, his most important roles as a man are husband to Shannon and father to Carter, Joshua, Sydney and Samuel. He is also the author of The Seasons of Fatherhood.
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Kirk Giles
Kirk Giles is the co-lead pastor of Forward Church in Cambridge, ON. He was formerly the President of Impactus (when it was known as Promise Keepers Canada). However, his most important roles as a man are husband to Shannon and father to Carter, Joshua, Sydney and Samuel. He is also the author of The Seasons of Fatherhood.