King David was a man after God’s own heart. Over and again in the Psalms we see him longing for the presence of God and seeking diligently His heart. For David, the worse thing imaginable was to be excluded from His presence and the Holy Spirit to be taken from him. As a young lad, David saw the tormented state of King Saul, when the anointing had left him. Having riches, fame or position was no substitute for the presence of God. David prayed: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalms 27:4) David loved the Lord and did not want anything to ruin the intimate relationship they had.
Transparency is essential for there to be a healthy relationship. When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid themselves from God. Sin had broken the intimate fellowship they had enjoyed since their creation. David also fell into sin, which resulted in a distance between himself and his Lord. In Psalms 51, we see the agony of his repentant heart as he pleaded for God to not leave him. David’s repentance brought restoration and yet that experience marked him. He no longer trusted himself and knew that his heart could be very deceitful. So, he asked the Lord to bring to light any secret sins or hidden areas in his life. Here is what he prayed: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts. And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalms 139:23-24)
Can we be so courageous and ask the Lord to search our hearts? It is easy to blame others or hide from the light but that does not restore closeness to God. The light exposes the darkness and the darkness flees. The Psalmist says: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) The Bible is the only book that when you read it, it reads you. I have found that when someone wants to hide their sin, they stop reading the Bible, they avoid fellowship, and criticize the preaching of the Word. They believe that by adapting to the social mores of the times, Truth can be made more relevant. But Truth is objective. It stands on its own for all generations. What must change is us.
We are always in need of change. Jeremiah prophesied against Moab condemning them for remaining in the “comfort zone” and never changing. He said: “Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his dregs; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so his taste remains in him and his scent is not changed.” What a graphic picture of how good wine is produced. It must be poured, or changed, from one vessel to another. It is a purifying process. Even water that is stagnate becomes undrinkable. It must flow to be cleansed. Do you feel stagnant in your relationship with God or that you are stuck in a rut? Then ask the Lord to search you.
What hinders the life of God flowing in us is often not easily seen by ourselves. We have these blind areas where sin hides. Sin often hides behind the confidence that we have done everything right, yet our trust is in our riches and not in God. Or we can covet with our eyes, judge in our mind, and lust in our thoughts, and because nobody knows what is going on in us, we excuse these deviant ways as just being “human” and common to all. God says they are sin. He wants to open the eyes of our understanding to see as He sees, so we can repent and be restored to intimacy with Him. So, ask God to search you and to shine His light on the hidden areas of the soul.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Psalms 139:23-24; 51:10-12, 17; Ephesians 1:17; Joshua 7:21