By David ReayThursday 18 Jul 2019LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
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. (NLT)
How ready is any of us to allow God to truly search our hearts? While we don’t know all there is to know about us, we know enough to be aware there are dark recesses and secret corners that don’t reflect well on us. If we let God burrow into these places we may end up on the receiving end of a divine thunderbolt or two.
Many of us think like that on occasions and it shows just how little we understand the grace and mercy and love of God. We first have to realise that God already knows about those dark places and even knows about those places we keep buried in our subconscious. So inviting God to search our hearts is not going to cause God any great shocks.
And when he does search our hearts, he does so as the one who sees not only the worst in us but the best in us that he can bring out of us. The worst in us need not keep us from him if we trust Jesus has borne the guilt of it. The best in us can be lovingly nurtured by his Spirit.
God remembers what we so often forget: change happens in the context of love and acceptance. God meets us where we are and invites us to be transformed. He does not turn from us in disgust or despair. He loves us just as we are. But he loves us too much to leave us just as we are.
Blessings
David