“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.”
Psalms 139:23-24
What an amazing time we live in. Medical science has made great strides in diagnosing and treating illness. They have developed many ways to “look inside you” with x-rays, CT scans, and ultrasound and the like.
If you’ve lived any length of time, you’ve probably had to undergo one of those tests.
While we’ve made great strides in that area, we know that those tests aren’t infallible. Sometimes, there is something inside of a person that is not detected. It may be “hidden.”
The psalmist asks God to look inside of him, to do a scan of you will.
He is not asking God to do a medical scan, but rather a spiritual one.
God knows all and sees all, so you know that His examination will see all things.
He asks God to “search me and know my heart…”
God knows exactly how we feel.
“For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
Hebrews 4:15
God knows how you feel…
The psalmist asks God to “know my anxieties…”
We all get worried and anxious sometimes, but have we asked God to help us? The first step is asking God to make us aware of our anxieties. Then, He can administrator the medicine for it, His perfect peace.
“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”
Isaiah 26:3
The psalmist also asks God to “… see if there is any wicked way in me…”
This scan uncovers sin, particularly hidden sins that get in the way of fellowship with God.
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.”
Psalms 32:1
There is joy in God’s forgiveness.
Finally, he asks God to
“… lead me in the way everlasting.”
Once he has gone through the “scan” which has uncovered his anxieties and sin, he asks for God’s guidance.
Let’s do like the psalmist today and ask God to examine us, bringing to light our anxieties and sin.
Confess them to God.
Go forth in His peace, and joy of forgiveness, being sensitive to His guidance of your life.
“So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.”
Psalms 55:6
The postman puts the mail in the box. He sees a basketball in the yard. “I bet I could make that three point shot like I used to.” he thinks to him self.
So, he picks up the basketball and makes his best shot. Unfortunately it hits, and breaks a garage door window. The owners of the house frown at the embarrassed postal carrier.
The announcer says, “Wanna get away?”
We laugh at commercials like that, but there’s some truth in them.
Sometimes troubles in life make us want to get in an airplane or just drive somewhere. Anywhere. Just to get away…
David felt this way. He has trouble with his enemies. If that wasn’t bad enough a “friend” betrayed him.
It kind of seems weird that David, the mighty warrior who faced Goliath when he was a youth, would think of fleeing.
Dr. Ryan Cook said: “David’s heart expressed not the courage of the man who had faced down giants but the timidity of a bird.”
It’s a normal human reaction to want to split, but you don’t see David getting on the next plane to Hawaii.
David gives us a remedy.
Prayer.
“As for me, I will call upon God, And the LORD shall save me.”
God will hear our prayer. “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.” Psalms 55:17
God will carry our burdens, and help us.
. “Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalms 55:22
So, when things get tough and we “wanna get away”, but can’t, remember: “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”
