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 27, 2022
Have you ever kept track of verses in the Bible that really frighten you? When I have read and thought about praying the truth of Psalm 139:23-24, I have found myself hesitating. I agree with James M. Boice when he says, “It is a serious thing to pray [“Search me…”], because it invites painful exposures and surgery, if we really mean it.” This fact should not stop us, but, instead, we should be prepared for a certain kind of person or circumstances to show up that will threaten. I can say this from personal experience. The psalmist, no matter how painful his encounters with the evil around him, had always found the perfections of God to be enormously settling. That God was all-seeing, everywhere present, and wonderfully creative had been a sedative for his soul. So much so that the infinitely sinless nature of God would not allow God’s name to be discredited. Do we hate what God hates? These truths lead us to the bold plea for God to do some searching of our hearts. Do I hate evil when I see it in others? If I am not careful I can let that holy hatred cover my own meanness and pursuit of revenge. The hurt of betrayal by a friend can lead me to harbor bitterness. More on these matters next time. H
A time to pray: “Holy God, what sinful way is it that you see in me that I have allowed to go undetected? Search me and give me the sweetness of a clear conscience.”