Psalm 139:23

Psalm 139:23

Search me, God

We are coming to the climax of this extraordinary Psalm, we’ve been walking with King David as he investigates the full knowledge that the Lord God has of each of us and frankly, it’s a bit scary! As we have seen, He knows us better than we know ourselves, He reads us like a book, He even knows what’s in the next paragraph before we get to it! There’s no escaping the scrutiny of our God and so, with David, we must now dare to ask Him to search our hearts. It’s all very well having a rant against the enemy but what if we too are acting in opposition to the Lord? 

Dare we ask the Lord to, “Search me, O God, go deep, look at my motives and my selfish heart. Take note of my empty promises and misguided intentions. Seek out and expose the real truth behind what I say and do. Uncover my secret thoughts and my purposes. Show me who I really am and what has made me this way. Uncover the deepest parts of my heart and mind and show me all that I am and have done that is offensive to you. Test me to the point that all my anxieties and their causes are exposed, and I am completely bare before You?” 

As others have commented, it is no light matter to be examined by God, to be 100% open before Him and to hold nothing back. Few dare to pray such a prayer and to let themselves be investigated and assessed at such a deep level, but I believe that this is what David was asking God to do. And I repeat the question; dare we ask the Lord to carry our such an investigation of us? If we do, we will find peace, maybe after years of striving and fighting. No more pretence, no more secrets, no more cover-ups, there is one Being who knows us and everything about us and when the exposure is completed, He does not turn away but remains faithful and compassionate. What a God!

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