Inside Out: A 40 Day Journey to Transforming Your HeartSample

Let the Exam Begin! 

Examinations. This word can bring a bit of anxiety. Whether a doctor examines us to find out our health status or we take an examination to find out the depth of our knowledge on a subject, exams expose us to a reality we may not want to embrace. 

Psalm 139:1 says, "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me." (NLT) Hmmm…let's take that in for a moment. God examines our hearts. "Examine" means to investigate something thoroughly to determine its condition. God is thoroughly investigating us. He is the original Sherlock Holmes. He is consistently evaluating how we are doing. He knows everything about us at every moment.  He knows our desires and dreams. He knows our worst nightmares and greatest fears. He knows the trauma we've experienced. He knows the abuse we've endured. He knows our highest joys and our deepest sorrows. He knows the steps of faith we've taken. He knows where we've failed. He knows our personality and spiritual gifts. He knows what we value in life and why.  He knows our secret sins. He knows where we feel shame, doubt, and discouragement. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Why? Because He created us. He created you. 

Interestingly enough, God still examines our hearts as if He didn't know everything about us.  Why is that? In God's perfect design, He did not plan for us to be born sinners.  The first man and woman that God created chose to make their own decisions apart from what God commanded, and ever since then, every person who is born has a heart that is blemished with sin. It's hard to imagine a newborn baby and not see pure innocence. But wait a week or a month, and you will see that even the heart of a newborn is full of selfishness, anger, and a demanding spirit. They have no clue how their selfishness is challenging their parents' patience. Just as a baby is unaware of their sin, we are often unaware of our sin and how it affects us and those around us. 

God's examination of our heart is not to condemn us. He examines us so that He can bring hope and healing to the most broken parts of our lives.  He does this by offering His presence, His protection, and His peace. We will never experience what He is freely offering if we don't acknowledge our hearts' current status.  When we ignore His examination results, we aren't giving Him access to those places that need healing and hope. That means peace will elude us. 

What is the use if we go to a doctor, have an exam, receive the report, and do nothing about it? The exam exposes what is going on inside of us so that the work toward healing can begin. To heal our spiritual hearts, we must begin by inviting God to search our hearts and tell us what He finds. Psalm 139:23 says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!" We are not asking this because He is unaware of what is inside us. We are asking this because we are unaware of what is inside of us.  When we ask God to reveal to us what He's discovered in His search, then we can join Him in the journey to transform our hearts from the inside out! 

Take a Moment: 

• What are your fears in allowing God to reveal to you your heart? 

• How can you choose to trust that this examination is for your good?

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You know me because You created me.  You examine my heart because You love me and want me to know what is going on inside me so that together we can be on a journey of healing. I choose by faith to trust that what You reveal to me about my heart is not to condemn me but to work Your plan of sanctification in my life. You want me to become more like You from the inside out. Please reveal to me my heart so that I can change and heal. Amen.