Search Me O God
by John DoylePsalm 139: 23 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxieties."In searching the scriptures following the results of mine and Barbara's Covid19 tests as positive and feeling so anxious about it, I came across this precious verse of scripture. Sometimes in life especially in these difficult days we need to ask the Lord to "Search me (us)" and lay before Him our anxieties.Of course as a Sovereign God He already knows our hearts and concerns but for us to dwell with Him and spend time with Him in these anxious moments is so important. Please read Psalm 139. It begins with David’s acknowledgement that God has “searched me”. The Lord knows everything about him Nothing about David or his life can be hidden from God, who knows even what David will say before he says it, Ps. 139:4. If he tried to escape from the Lord, in every place God would be present In fact, God knew David even in his mother’s womb as he knit him together wonderfully - Ps. 139:13-16The first eighteen verses of Psalm 139 celebrate the Lord’s intimate knowledge of David. Verse 19 changes the subject abruptly: “O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!” Ps. 139:19. It’s as if the memory of those who sought David’s life interrupted his celebration of God’s presence and filled his heart with hatred for his enemies.Then Psalm 139 takes another unexpected turn, concluding with a prayer for the Lord to search David’s heart: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” Ps. 139:23-24.Am sure David remembered that, like his enemies, he had done things in the past that dishonored the Lord. So he invited God to "Search Him" and reveal anything offensive. The understanding is that David would repent of those sins in order that God might “lead him along the path of everlasting life” (Ps. 139:24). Remember that classic verse of scripture "And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as King, to whom also gave testimony and said 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do My will" Acts 13:22There are times in all of our lives when we need God to *Search Us* in this way. Though a part of us resists dealing with what is wrong in our lives, we know that we need to see our sin as God sees it, so that we might confess and be forgiven, and that we might turn from from any sin and follow the Lord completely.How does God reveal any sin? In many ways: through reading Scripture, through hearing the Word of God preached, through the challenging love of friends, and through the still small voice of Gods Holy Spirit. In asking God to…