I love Psalm 139. I love David’s honesty with God. I love how he acknowledges that God is ever present, all knowing and all powerful. God even knows our thought life (Psalm 139:3). We truly are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, in His image. Our God truly is an awesome God. His thoughts, desires and ways are so much higher than ours.
But the last two verses of Psalm 139 are truly amazing: Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Are you ever this honest with God? Do you ever say: Search me, O God, and know my heart? Do you ever say: And see if there be any wicked way in me?
Personally, I find it scary to ask God to search me. I know my thoughts, desires and ways and they aren’t anywhere near God’s thoughts, desires and ways. I want them to be, but I’m not there. So why is it scary to ask God to search me? Because through the Holy Spirit, God will convict me of sin and unrighteousness in my life. I’m comfortable where I’m at. I currently serve the Lord and I’m comfortable where He has me.
Well, if I want to draw closer to God, if I want to be ever increasingly used by Him to help further His kingdom, then yes, I need to honestly ask God to search my heart. What secrets do I want to keep hidden? What things in my life do I want to keep for myself? What am I unwilling to give up for my Lord and Savior? It is silly to think that I can keep anything hidden from almighty God. So why do I foolishly try? Also, I have a godly friend that asks the question: “Am I missing God’s best because I’m settling for good?” Am I so caught up in doing good works for God that I am really missing out on God’s best plan for my life?
What about those that are unsaved? Do they want God to search them? I really doubt it and if they do, they don’t really understand what they are asking for. Jeremiah 17:9 states, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Many times people say, God knows my heart and they say it like that’s a good thing. God does know your heart. And the Bible says that it is desperately wicked!
Also unbeliever, do you understand that God is angry with you over your sins? Psalm 7:11 says, God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. Do not deceived. God does know your heart and if you die in your sins as an unrepentant sinner, you will have to give an account for every thought, every word and every act that you’ve committed during your whole life. How will you do? Will you measure up? Will you measure up if God judges you by the 10 Commandments? Obviously not. There is none righteous. Not one single person will measure up to this perfect standard.
Jeremiah 17:17 states, Do not be a terror to me: you are my hope in the day of evil. Jeremiah is talking to God. Here is a godly man and he’s saying God, don’t be a terror to me. How much more of a terror will God be to unbelievers, especially on Judgment Day? Psalm 139:19 says: Surely you will slay the wicked… Do not be deceived. There is no place to hide from God. Because of the terror of the Lord we persuade men to turn from their sins and put their trust in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:11).
So whether you are already a follower of Jesus or you are unsaved, you should ask God to search your heart. If you are an unbeliever, then you need God to search your heart and allow Him to convict you over your sins. When you realize that you are lost, when you realize that you are a sinner and that God is Holy, then you can cry out to Him to save you. Cry out for God to have mercy on you. Turn away from your sins and put your faith in Jesus.
If you are already a follower of Jesus, then you too should cry out for God to search your heart. Don’t be afraid of what God will reveal to you. Don’t be afraid of the secrets that you have buried deep within your heart. Not only does Jesus save us from our sins when we put our faith in Him, but He also heals us. Seriously ask God to show you sin in your life. God already knows you better than you know yourself. You and I need to know the truth of our current spiritual state.
We need to ask God to reveal any hidden sin, any unresolved issues and any unforgiveness that we are still holding on to. As followers of Jesus, our goal, our desire should be to become more Christ-like every day. We should ask God to search us and then we need to repent and ask forgiveness for any evil that we are still attached to. Let’s draw closer to God. Let’s be used mightily by God to do His kingdom work. Let’s sincerely cry out for God to search us and then we need to listen to Him. Let’s start tonight. Search me, O God…