This Week's Scripture & Reflection: Psalm 139:23-24
If asked, many individuals would attest that they know themselves fairly well. And while that may certainly be true to an extent, the Person who knows all of us better than we know ourselves is God! He is the One who formed our inward parts and wove us together in our mothers' wombs (cf. Psalm 139:13). He knows each one of us wholly and completely, not simply because He is omniscient, but also because He was intimately involved in our development.
In Psalm 139, David eloquently explores both the omnipresence and omniscience of God. In the last two verses, he makes a sincere and profound request of the Lord: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my thoughts.” David invites the Lord to intimately and thoroughly examine him, specifically his heart and mind. He wants the Lord to “see if there be any wicked way” in him. To present this kind of request to the Lord requires earnest humility and a genuine desire to repent. It begins with recognizing that God sees every ungodly and unrighteous thing that lies and that may lay dormant within us—wrath, bitterness, envy, lust, greed, idolatry, and many others. Whether we fail to recognize the presence of these sinful ways or choose to ignore them, God sees them all and will not shy away from showing them to us, especially if we ask Him to do so.
When we ask the Lord to search our hearts and minds, we must be willing to receive His examination of us no matter how painful or surprising it may be, ultimately remembering that God is faithful and true, and therefore, so are His assessments. In response to His examination, we must confess our sins (cf. I John 1:9), receive the Lord's forgiveness, and repent with genuine commitment. Failing to address and correct what God has revealed demonstrates a lack of personal responsibility and seriousness with regard to inviting the Lord to search our innermost selves. Requests such as these He will never reject, but He will always wrap His conviction in true agape!
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