Thursday, December 1
Search me—test me—lead me
Scripture: Job 38-39, Psalm 139, Romans 7
Psalm 139:23–24
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.
Observation
This beautiful psalm is worth memorizing and repeating. The psalmist celebrates God’s complete knowledge of us, care for us, and presence with us. He finishes with this powerful prayer: search me, test me, lead me.
“Test me and know my concerns.” The Hebrew word “test” was literally to test metals by melting. When a metal melted in the smelter, the impurities would rise to the surface and be skimmed away. When the heat is on, what’s inside us often rises to the surface. My concerns—my anxieties and fears—surface. But then the master can address them, purify and free me. He tests us not to fail us but to free us.
That is clear in the final couplet. The testing may reveal something offensive—hurtful, grievous, idolatrous—so that God can cleanse me and then lead me in the right way, the ancient and everlasting way.
Application
Simple application today: pray this prayer. More than once. Pray it multiple times during the day. And stop to listen. Invite God to search you and know you, to test you and see what surfaces. Ask Him to show you what He finds, and then to lead you in the good way. Be ready to change!
Prayer: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.