The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, And Desperately Wicked

The Bible tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things and that the god of this world is satan.

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 2 Corinthians 4:3–4.

Satan has blinded too many people in this world. There are many people who are being used by the devil as his agents. The enemy has evil plans, and he uses people to accomplish those wicked plans. The fruits of many people’s lives are the fruits of the flesh.

Many people, at times without knowing, yoke their lives with darkness.

Many people keep entertaining those they call friends who have no goodwill towards them, many people marry people who hate them and who are full of jealousy towards them, and that brokenness is labeled love, people are living with people who wish them no good. Many people make rush decisions and open up their lives to people who should never have been allowed into their lives.

There are many people who talk to a person a few times and then think that they know that person. Many people meet a few times and then the next moment they are living together, they do not take the time to know the other person, they assume that just because such a person looks good on the outside then they must be good people. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

We have become people who open every area of our lives to strangers. We open up to people who envy us, people who hate us, people who are jealous of us, people who just want something from us, people who have plans in their minds to use us, we open up our lives to abusive people. Such people are very cunning, crafty, manipulative, and very charming. They seem to know their way around getting what they want. They will say all the right things and do all the right things for a season so as to groom you and for you to give them your trust. The heart is deceitful.

Once they have access to your life, you will not know what hit you! They will turn your life into a practice ground for their evil wicked desires. They will do everything within their power to turn your life upside down. They will manipulate you and throw you into a deep dark hole of confusion. They will abuse you in every way possible. They will use you as a practice ground for their perversion and at times even unnatural desires.

They will do everything within their power to strip you of your dignity, using demeaning words and actions. They will call you names that you may never have heard of before, they will give you labels, they will use their demeaning language to drive your esteem and sense of worth to the mud. They will do cruel things to you that will cause you emotional turmoil and even physical harm and drive you to even start questioning yourself. They will coerce and manipulate you into doing things that you would never do.

Such people are so manipulative and crafty and will use your every word and action against you and for their gain. They will slander you and gossip about you to make sure that they destroy the image of how other people view you, and during all that time they will be portraying themselves as victims. They will lie to your face and spread lies about you. That is the world we live in. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can understand it?

Never yoke your life with unbelievers. Yes, love them, witness to them, and pray for them, but use wisdom lest you be pulled down.

They may look good and seem nice and do and say all the right things but if they are unbelievers then there is no good within them. Without God man is not capable of anything good. The heart is deceitful and corrupt. Any good in us is because of God. The Bible tells us that the flesh and the Spirit are in conflict with one another.

I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:16–18.

Someone may appear good on the outside but if they do not have God’s Spirit in them, do not yoke your life with them. If you are a believer, do not marry an unbeliever. Such people might put on a show for some time or they might try to be good by their own strength but they will eventually get worn out. Do not be led astray; the heart is deceitful. The Bible tells us that our attempts at righteousness are like filthy rags.

But we are like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and all our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6.

We cannot do it on our own, we are born sinners and cannot save ourselves no matter how hard we try. It took the death on the cross of the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ, to save us. Our works cannot save us. We are only saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.

An unbeliever may try to tell you that they are good people but never forget that there is no goodness in any human being apart from God.

The heart is deceitful and wicked. Such a person who claims to be good or nice may eventually turn against you in a split second, and you will be left wondering what just happened. Such a person will be friendly or act friendly for some time, at times even for years, but the day they turn against you, you will be left wondering if they are still the same people that you thought you knew.

People you have known for many years can turn against you, just as someone you have known for a few days can turn against you. Only a person who fears the Lord, a person who has reverential fear of God will treat you with respect, dignity, and love even when they have a chance to do or say otherwise. Do not look at the outward appearance and do not be deceived that you know somebody.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the heart of people and their motives, because it is in the heart and mind that things and ideas are conceived. You most likely do not know the real intentions of that person next to you. Ask God to give you discernment, spend time studying and meditating on the Word of God, spend time in prayer. Ask God to give you wisdom.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and to direct you every moment of every day of your life. He will! Many people who you have around you may not be meant to be in your life. Maybe some of those people hate you and are jealous of you, maybe in their hearts they are planning ways to harm you or take advantage of you or steal from you or they are just in your life for the benefits they gain from being associated with you. We do not know the hearts of human beings. The heart is deceitful and desperately sick.

Ask God to direct your every step and to close doors in your life that should never have been opened, ask God to remove from your life people that should not be in your life, ask God to open doors that should be opened in your life, ask God to reveal to you the intentions of people around you. He will! When you get the revelation, take the necessary steps.

Close all those doors that the enemy has been using to gain entry into your life.

Many people live in fear and are afraid to take the necessary steps forward. Many people are afraid to be alone because they do not want to be uncomfortable or they do not want to face uncertainty. Such people want to walk by sight instead of walking by faith. They forget that God is with them and they are never alone.

Out of fear, many people keep entertaining people and things that they should have let go of a long time ago.

Ask the Holy Spirit of God to empower you to do what you ought to do. Be willing to be alone or isolated for a season if that is what it takes to follow God. If there is anything or anyone in your life that is hindering you from obeying the Lord then you need to separate yourself from such. It is too costly to continue in a path that does not please God; it is not and will never be worth it.

If there is anything or anyone who occupies a position in your life above God then that is an idol, repent and turn back to the Lord. Let God be first in every area of your life. If you know that a person is ungodly then do not yoke your life with them no matter how good they appear to be on the outside, you do not know what is in their hearts. The heart is deceitful.

Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. May God help us to see things and people as He sees them!

Never allow anybody to use your life as a practice ground for their evil heart desires. Do not allow anyone to manipulate, coerce, or talk you into doing or saying anything that you know is sin, that violates your conscience, and that goes against God’s Word. Do not be quick to open up your life to strangers and always ask God to give you discernment and wisdom concerning the people you are interacting with, even people you have known for a long time.

Stop putting your trust and hope in people and place your trust solely in the Lord. Those people you keep relying on for something will be the same people manipulating you and telling you that they want something from you in exchange for what they are giving you or doing for you, they will be the same people who will turn against you. Human beings are conditional and have a fallen nature. The Bible tells us that cursed is the person who puts their trust in man.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.’” Jeremiah 17:5–8.

Put your trust in God, He never fails, He is the promise keeper, He loves us with unconditional love. God thinks good thoughts towards us.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me, and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11–13.

The Lord is our Rock, our Fortress, our Savior, and in Him we trust.

Blessings.

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Originally published at https://www.vickysforum.com on January 15, 2022.