“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV).
The prophet Jeremiah delivered this sobering truth to Judah during the last days before Babylon’s invasion. The people of Judah had turned from trusting in the Lord to trusting in false prophets and manmade idols. But Jeremiah exposed the real problem—it wasn’t merely political or social; it was spiritual. Their hearts were deceitful and incurably sick.
Jeremiah described the heart as both self-deceptive and diseased. It lies to us about what is good, disguises sin as harmless, and assures us of righteousness we do not have. The Hebrew phrase for “desperately sick” carries the idea of being incurably ill, echoing the depth of human depravity. The question “Who can understand it?” implies that no one can truly know the depths of their own heart—only God, as the next verse declares, “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind.”
Jeremiah’s diagnosis still rings true. Our greatest problem is not our circumstances but our hearts. Like Judah, we are prone to self-deception, convincing ourselves that we are “not that bad.” Yet Scripture says: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Our sin is not superficial; it is terminal. But thanks be to God, there is a cure! Though “the wages of sin is death,” “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). Only Christ can cleanse and transform a deceitful heart. When we trust in Him, God gives us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26)—one that can truly love, trust, and obey Him.
So, instead of trusting our own hearts, let’s trust the One who knows them better. Let’s invite Him to search and renew us daily, praying as David did, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psa. 51:10).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we confess that our hearts are deceitful and sick with sin. Forgive us when we trust in ourselves instead of You. Search us, reveal what is hidden, and cleanse us by the blood of Christ. Create in us new and clean hearts that delight in Your truth and walk in Your ways. In Jesus’ name, amen.