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Search Me, Oh God

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalms 139:23,24 (NKJV)

Around the beginning of the year, many of us feel drawn to a certain degree of introspection and self-review. Some of us have had some time off work or school… perhaps we’ve had the opportunity to reconnect with friends and family that we might not have seen in a while. Things like this seem to prompt us to have a bit of a think about how our lives are going.

I’ve been posting on this blog since December 2013 (with some significant gaps, admittedly), and looking over some of the things I’ve written over the year has been an interesting exercise.

Towards the end of 2013, I was doing some fervent study and prayer centered on the book of James, and that’s what I started with in this blog. It was an important exercise for me, because I was really searching for practical applications of Christianity in my daily life – how to really live every day as a Christian.

I also talked about having God’s Word written on my heart, witnessing (and my fear of it), and practical, working faith. These were simply me sharing some of the things I was learning in my study of God’s Word, and I pray and trust that people reading those articles were blessed by them. I’d also suggest that they reveal something about my spiritual progress over the past year or so.

A certain amount of self-examination is a healthy thing. Taking the time to simply sit and contemplate how things are going in our lives is something that we may not always find it easy to do. And if we don’t occasionally have a good look at ourselves, internal issues can go unresolved for long periods, until they’re too much for us to handle.

On the other hand, too much introspection – looking at ourselves all the time, to the exclusion of everything else – is self-centred. We lose sight of what’s going on around, and become remote and cut off from people and things around us.

Clearly, balance is key, but I think most of all, we need to be aware that the One who knows us best of all is God. In Psalm 139, David recognises this when he says:

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. – Psalm 139:1-4

God knows us better than we know ourselves, so self-examination is good and healthy (in moderation), but it will always be limited by our human imperfection. God’s view of us is perfect – He knows our true needs and the true desires of our hearts.

As we review the past and plan to the future, it’s important that we seek His guidance. Not only does he understand us completely, but His desire for us is absolutely for our ultimate happiness. Sometimes our limitations prevent us from seeing this, but it is at these times that it is most important to trust Him.

God’s blessings to all for 2015.

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God’s Word on My Heart

Recently, my Bible study included Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which says this:

4 Hear Israel! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one; 5 and you are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources. 6 These words, which I am ordering you today, are to be on your heart; 7 and you are to teach them carefully to your children. You are to talk about them when you sit at home, when you are traveling on the road, and when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them on your hand as a sign, put them at the front of a headband around your forehead, 9 and write them on the door-frames of your house and on your gates. —Complete Jewish Bible

In Judaism, this is the beginning of the prayer commonly called the Sh’ma, which is often the first prayer that a Jewish child learns. The Hebrew word Sh’ma is usually translated ‘Hear’, and is an imperative command. It can mean ‘listen!’ or ‘pay attention!’. Moses was speaking to the children of Israel, after reviewing the ten commandments with them, and he wanted to strongly emphasise his point.

I found this text very moving when I read it recently in the beautiful language of the Complete Jewish Bible. It really is the essence of religion and faith in God. As Christians, we are the spiritual children of Israel, and these words are no less applicable to us today.

We’re to love God with everything that we are, lead our children in the same path, and live this in every aspect of our daily lives. Following God is not a part-time occupation.

Some Jewish people take the instructions to tie God’s Word to their hands and forehead, and to write then on their door-frames and gates, quite literally. I respect the dedication and sincerity that that implies, but I don’t think Moses intended it literally. I believe these verses mean that God’s Word is to guide our thoughts, and actions, and to be paramount in our homes. Having words on paper tied to our bodies or written on our doorways may serve a good reminder to our wandering minds, but it means very little if they are not written on our hearts, and lived in our lives.