July 24, 2026 Devo

My wife and I just took care of our oldest granddaughter for 12 days. With her autism, it’s no small task. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a wonderful picture of innocence. At almost 18, she has the mind and reasoning of a small child. She delights in cartoons, drawing, playing “dress up”, and loves chasing rabbits. She’s two-legged cuteness. That is, about 90% of the time.
She is also sneaky, sneaky, sneaky. She’ll wait until you’re out of the room or not paying attention, and then she’ll slip into the kitchen and get something out of the refrigerator or pantry that she’s not allowed to have. When she leaves to go home, she is always trying to steal some of Wanda’s knick-knacks, jewelry, or anything else that catches her eye. We have to conduct a TSA-style checkpoint at the door and make her empty her pockets, purse, and backpack, just to ensure she’s not robbing us blind. She seems as innocent as can be, but make no mistake. She’s as deceptive as the best of them!
But that’s the story for all of us, isn’t it? God reminds us in our passage today that “the human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.” In other words, we’re all masters at deception. Especially when it comes to deceiving ourselves. It goes all the way back to the Garden. Adam and Eve deceived themselves about the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit. Abraham thought he could get away with lying about Sarah being his sister. Moses thought he could get away with murder. It’s not hard for us to rationalize and justify our actions, words, or attitudes. Small things and big, our hearts can be unbelievably deceitful.
But God reminds us also that He KNOWS our hearts. We may fool others and ourselves, but we can never fool God. That’s why it’s important for us to invite God not only to know our hearts, but to expose our hearts to us that we might see ourselves as He does. That was the intent behind David’s words in Psalm 139: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” When God helps us see what He sees, the deception ends. We live in truth. And the truth sets us free. Let’s do a TSA check with God today. Let’s open all the pockets and backpacks of our hearts and ask Him to help us see what He already knows. Don’t let your heart fool you. It may appear innocent, but it’s more deceptive than you know! That’s God’s Word for you today.