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Positioning Ourselves for More of God: Part 2 – Our Heart

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In Psalm 139, verses 23-24, the psalmist says: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Ps 139:23-24 NIV)

Notably, the psalmist makes this request of God to “search” him right after he’s just informed us in earlier verses 1-4 (below) that the Lord, in fact, already knows everything about him. He tells us that the Lord has not only already searched him, but knows his every thought, exactly what he does, what kind of person he is, and every word that will come out of his mouth – before he even says it.

You have searched me, Lord, and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You, Lord, know it completely. (Ps 139: 1-4 NIV)

John 2:25 confirms: “No one needed to tell Him about human nature, for He knew what was in each person’s heart.” (NLT)

So the question is, If God already knows all this, why then does the Psalmist specifically ask God to do something he knows He has already done? Is it some sort of rhetorical device, or is there more behind it?

The answer, I believe, is that its quite intentional. That in requesting God to “search” him, knowing God already knows him, the psalmist reminds us when we invite God into our heart, it is through a door of intentional and voluntary submission and contrition (Rev 3:20). This is the thing that God desires most from us: The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. (Ps 51:17 NLT)

Or, in Isaiah: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool; what is the house that you would build for Me, and what is the place of My rest? All these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:1-2 ESV)

Thank You Lord for Your Word. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path so that we can seek You and find You. Lord, teach us how to be like the psalmist, submitting our hearts to You so You can find a welcoming place within us to rest. Lead us in all Your ways – continue to transform us and empower us – so that through our words and deeds we can glorify Your Name in greater ways each day. Amen

John Hancock

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Often when we ask for a person’s signature, we will call it their “John Hancock.” This is because of the fifty-six signatures on the Declaration of Independence, one stands out above the rest. That signature belongs to John Hancock. He was the first to sign the declaration and he signed it in a large and legible script so that the King of England could read his name without using glasses. Mr. Hancock wanted it to be very clear where his allegiance lay. His commitment to his country was so clear that when King George III offered amnesty to all who would cease fighting, John Hancock was among the select few who were left out of the offer.

A similar thing happened to Moses. Its found in Exodus 34:5-7 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

At first it appears to be pretty pompous of the Lord. But when we seek to connect to the Lord, listening for His still small Voice to teach us, He will lead us to the Truth, guiding us beyond what offends our natural minds. As I sought Him He surprised me with His answer. Numbers 6:24-27 “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’ “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” God places His Name upon His people through His Word. Add to that this revelation: Psalms 138:2 I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name! God magnifies His Word above His Name. Let that sink in. Reading this for the first time you immediately think of the Scripture, and that would be right. Yet consider that Jesus is the Living Word of God. In essence, God was exalting Jesus – the Word above His Name, and writing His Sons’ Name onto the heart of Moses. And don’t forget Acts 11:26 …and in Antioch the disciples were first called Christ…..ians. Jesus put His Word in their hearts along with His Name! The good news for us is that God writes His Name – Jesus, Yeshua – on our hearts through His Word. Through our obedience and surrender in our wilderness; and in our dying spiritually to ourselves through prayer, fasting, seeking, submission, and obedience. As we meet Him – the Word, outside the camp, at Christ’s crucifixion, He is, and will continue to write His Name – His Word – His Story – on our hearts. That’s pretty powerful.