The Search Process

Friends that can be trusted. So valuable! Thanks, Mark and Jay.

Piggy-backing on the last two posts, herewith the following.
"Examine my heart?" But I know myself well. Why do I need God to examine me? Why fix the engine when it’s not broken?

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind?] Amp.

For that natural blindness reason we need God to continually and gently show us that which needs growth, reminding us of that Psalm 139:23-24 charge “Search my heart, Oh God…”

The Living Study Bible foot notes of this passage explains “heart” this way: “The heart is the center of one’s being, an image for a person’s thought life, reflections and will. The story of the heart reveals a person’s commitment and direction in life. The Bible describes the hearts of wicked as cunning and scheming, deceptive, hypocritical, lacking in integrity, greedy, and jealous. This evolves into an arrogance and calloused stubornness. This person’s only commitment is to themselves and that destructive way of life leads to their own destruction.

“The psalmists openly confess their sorrow, trouble, anguish and despair. Through their pain, their hearts grow. They pray intensely, longing for God, to trust in Him and open their hearts to God’s examination. Their commitment does not waver, and their lives are pure and contented even when broken. As their broken hearts are healed by the Lord, they become strong, confident and vital. In the end, the Lord gives them the desires of their hearts and then satisfies them.”

I pray “Search my heart Oh God” and not stop there, but go on to follow the advice in James 5:16 – “Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” Amp.

A small, intimate group of men (for a man), women for a woman, that lovingly and with encouragement stimulates with grace our desire for growth is invaluable. If not a group, a spiritual training partner, someone who is “doing life” with us, who cares enough to encouragingly confront when they observe a destructive attitude or behavior and to reflect God’s grace so that we can bring our aberant behavior to light, for growth and change.

We tend to resist this personal examination procedure by God out of fear of pain, condemnation, or out of pride and insecurity. And how much more we oppose sharing the examination results we encounter with another person – an accountabillity partner or spiritual training partner.

So, where do we start? That’ll be the next post