Key Verse: “When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, 6 the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved.” (Genesis 6:5-6 CSB)
Some people will tell us that, no matter how bad things get in the world around us, we can take comfort knowing that human beings are inherently good. Our problems are external not internal. At the core, everyone is generally a good person. But is that actually true?
Just generations after God created humanity, He looked down at the state of those who were on the earth. What God saw was not good. The Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt” (v.3). Everywhere He looked, “The Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth” (v.5). Like a viral outbreak, sin was continuing to corrupt everything everywhere.
At the root of the problem was the human heart. As God looked upon those on earth, He saw “that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time” (v.5). It wasn’t that people were just having a bad day or a bad week. Their hearts were continually inclined toward wickedness and rebellion. God was deeply grieved by what He saw. This was not what He desired for those He had made.
Unfortunately, the problem they were facing wasn’t just their own. It is the condition of every human heart apart from the Spirit’s transforming work within us. Our problems started before we were even born. David wrote, “Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). As a result, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable – who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). “For from the heart,” Jesus said, “come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander” (Matthew 15:19). All of our problems can be traced back to the corrupting work of sin in our hearts.
The good news though is that God in His mercy and love did not leave us where we were. Instead, He promised through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
For those who place their faith in Jesus Christ, God promises to give us a new heart. He places His Spirit within us to transform our desires and inclinations away from what is evil toward what is good and pleasing in His sight.
Today, humbly choose to surrender yourself again to the work of God’s Spirit in your heart. In the places of your heart where you see the inclinations toward sin, invite Him to cleanse you and to transform your heart more fully to His.
Prayer: God, I thank you for a new heart through your Holy Spirit. Please continue to turn my heart away from what is evil to all that is good and pleasing in your sight. I surrender to you today. Transform me into who you want me to be. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
