Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23-24
June 29, 2022
When David asked God to search him, he no doubt had some flashbacks to God’s searching him out. God used a beautiful woman who stopped him from exacting vengeance on her husband. Abigail talked biblical sense to David, and he got control of himself (1 Sam. 25:34). Has God used someone in your own life who has helped you deal with your temper? Maybe your spouse has been such an instrument in the hands of God. There is good reason to believe that Psalm 32 is a reflection on the lesson that God taught David though physical and emotional suffering. God may use physical affliction to bring to the surface a pattern of lust in our lives. We can set up lustful entertainment centers in our minds from internet experiences. Chocolate covered sins can be a go-to snack. It was Augustine, the great theologian, before he was converted “who was in love with his sensuality.”* Before he came to know Christ’s forgiveness, he prayed, “Lord, give me purity—but not yet.”* As a Christian, to our own shame, we can domesticate and harbor sin in our hearts. Therefore, when we pray for God to search our hearts, we may have to go through a trip to God’s woodshed for a spanking. It is God’s love for His children when He uses rebuke and suffering to draw us closer to Himself. H
A time to pray: “Precious Lord, keep me from being comfortable with those sins that grieve you.”
* “The Enemy Within,” Kris Lundgaard, (Recommended)