NOVEMBER 27, 2015
Help from the
Outside
God
is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.— 1 John 3:20
Read:
Jeremiah 17:7-13
On a business trip, my
husband had just settled into his hotel room when he heard an unusual noise. He
stepped into the hall to investigate and heard someone yelling from a nearby
room. With the help of a hotel worker, he discovered that a man had become
trapped in the bathroom. The lock on the bathroom door had malfunctioned and
the man trapped inside started to panic. He felt like he couldn’t breathe and
began yelling for help.
Sometimes in life we feel trapped. We are
banging on the door, pulling on the handle, but we can’t get free. We need help
from the outside, just like the man in the hotel.
To get that outside assistance, we have to
admit that we are helpless on our own. Sometimes we look inward for the answers
to our problems, yet the Bible says “the heart is deceitful” (Jer. 17:9). In
truth, we are often the source of our problems in life.
Thankfully, “God is greater than our hearts,
and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20). Because of this, He knows exactly how
to help us. Lasting heart-level change and real progress with our problems
originate with God. Trusting Him and living to please Him means we can flourish
and be truly free.
Heavenly Father, I humble myself before You. I can’t solve my
problems on my own. Please help me to seek Your help and perspective.
God helps those who know they are helpless.
INSIGHT:
The Bible describes
the heart as the very basis of our character—the center of who we are and the
source of our thoughts, feelings, and actions (see Prov. 4:23; 23:7). “The
heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jer. 17:9) is the
consistent verdict of scripture. This deceitfulness has made humanity incapable
of knowing how sinful we really are, for only God knows the true condition of
our heart (2 Chron. 6:30; Ps. 139:1-4; Jer. 17:10). We will not admit we are
sinners apart from divine intervention, revelation, and conviction (John 6:65;
Rom. 8:7-11; 2 Cor. 4:4). But God will redeem and give a new heart to all who
humbly come to Him and accept His grace and mercy (Ps. 51:10; 2 Cor. 5:17).
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015