Jeremiah 17:5-18

“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”

{Jeremiah 17:10} (NIV1984)

 

Jeremiah knew, as we all know, that actions by themselves do not tell the true story of a person. Even our own deeds are hard for us to figure out. It seems sometimes that we are all actors. We only behave a certain way around certain people. We only behave a certain way in certain situations. We even behave differently dependent upon our own state of mind, when our situations haven’t changed. 

The LORD makes it clear in this passage that our conduct and deeds will be judged according to our inner motivations. He alone sees inside us; He alone will judge us. This truth was so clear to Paul that he makes the amazing statement that he won’t even judge himself (1 Cor 4:3). 

How should this truth change me? It should shake my self confidence in my deeds. It should change my personal prayers. To pray that God would reveal my heart, and change my motives from the inside out. Prayers such as David prayed in Psalm 139:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.