Have you asked God to look at your heart?

Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV)

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!

    Try me and know my thoughts!

24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting!

It was Saturday morning as Jake, an avid hunter, woke up ready to go bag the first deer of the season. He walked down to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, and to his surprise he found his wife, Alice, sitting there, fully dressed in camouflage.

Jake asked her, "What are you up to?"

Alice smiled. "I'm going hunting with you!" Jake had many reservations about this, but reluctantly decided to take her along.

When they arrived at the hunting site, Jake set his wife safely up in the tree stand and told her, "If you see a deer, take careful aim and I'll come running back as soon as I hear the shot." He walked away with a smile on his face knowing that Alice couldn't bag an elephant, much less a deer.

However, within ten minutes, Jake was startled as he heard an array of gunshots. Quickly, Jake ran back. As he got closer to her stand, he heard Alice screaming: "Get away from my deer!"

Confused, Jake raced faster towards his screaming wife. And again he heard her yell, "Get away from my deer!" Followed by another volley of gunfire!

Now within sight of where he had left his wife, Jake was surprised to see a cowboy, with his hands high in the air. The cowboy, obviously distraught, said, "Okay, lady, okay!!!! You can have your deer!!! Just let me get my saddle off it!"

I suppose we've all done some pretty stupid things in our lifetime. I can tell you that when I do something stupid, I don't want anyone else to find out about it. In fact, I will go to great lengths to make sure that no one learns about it. I don't want the embarrassment of ridicule. I don't want to hear, "I told you so!" Or "You should have known better!" Or "What were you thinking?!" So I'm reluctant to share my shortcomings.

That's why there's a passage in Psalm 139 which is a bit perplexing:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)

Do you see what David is doing? He is inviting God to take a look at his heart and find all the stupid things that are hidden there. Why would he invite God to do that?

I can only think of one reason. David had an absolute trust in God. He knew that God loved him. He knew that instead of ridiculing him or berating him upon finding fault, God would do everything in His power to help David to find restoration and peace of mind. David had the utmost confidence in God. How I desire that in my life!

Dear Lord, we know that you are aware of everything in our life, both good and bad. We know that we can't hide from you, but we confess that we often desire to do so. We want to be open like David. We invite you into our heart and ask You to show us our shortcomings, and lead us in Your paths of righteousness. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Broken Bones and God's Restoring Power

Psalm 6:2  (NIV)

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;

    heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

Last night in an exciting game of Ultimate Frisbee with the Frisbee flying from one end of the gym and youth running everywhere.  During the game my son went high in the air to catch a Frisbee and his legs were taken out from under him. He became close and personal with the gym floor landing on his arm.  That brings us to where I sit now, the ER.  X-rays have shown that relationship with the floor did not do well for his wrist as one of the small bones is broken.  Every time he would move his arm he got the reminder of the broken bone. Once the doctor put the splint on and demobilized his arm it brought much relief. Now we wait as his wrist heals and he is restored back to full health.

As I sat in the ER and was thinking about broken bones I thought to myself bones are not the only thing that can be broken. We can be broken spiritually. Let’s take a look at David.

David also had reminders of broken bones, but his injuries were spiritual, not physical. After David’s moral collapse involving an affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, God firmly disciplined him. But then David turned to Him in repentance and prayed, “Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice” (Ps. 51:8).

God’s chastening was so crushing that David felt like his bones were broken. Yet he trusted that the God of grace could both repair his brokenness and rekindle his joy. In our own failure and sin, it’s a comfort to know that God loves us enough to pursue and restore us with His loving discipline.

Dear Lord, You did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline. Help us to move beyond the bad experiences and pains of our past and embrace the challenges of the future with confidence knowing You are there to help restore us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.