Jeremiah 17:9-10a

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind. - Jeremiah 17:9-10a

Dear Heavenly Father, 

You are so patient that you would put up with the deception that lurks in all of our hearts. You knew that we would fall into deep self deception when Adam and Eve fell.  Yet, you were so optimistic in your grace that you refused to scrap the human project.  Instead, you forged forward to fill the earth with human beings who had a marred image compared to what you had planned.  You knew you would have to patiently deal with each one of us to help us come to our senses about our own fallen-ness and need for redemption, divine change and restoration.  I love how you announce it here through your prophet.  "I the Lord search the heart and mind!" It's not in order to find a reason to destroy us.  No!  It's to help us self realize our great need for honesty, forgiveness and change.  Thank you for searching my heart and using circumstances and people to be the mirror that reveals the blemishes there. I will watch for how you arrange my life today through events and people to help me purge myself of all self deception.  Give me the humility and wisdom to embrace the pressure washer you use on my soul. 

Amen

Pastor Don Patterson 

When God "pressure washes" your soul, don't run and hide.  Make sure he gets every nook and cranny. 

Additional Reading: Psalm 51, John 4, Luke 5, Acts 9