INNER CLEANSING

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” – Psalm 139:23-24 NLT

            King David is asking the Lord to search his heart & his innermost thoughts so that he might be clean of sinful behavior. This could easily be embraced as a daily prayer for each & every Christian. Let’s fact it, how would we know what our sins were unless they were pointed out to us. We need the creator of our soul to probe our deepest thoughts & feelings, casting a light on them so they might be removed. We must listen to the still small voice of the Spirit so that we know how to correct that behavior. We need God’s intervention to know what direction we are to go. What we are allowing is for the Spirit of God to perform exploratory surgery on the deepest recesses of our heart, mind and soul. Are we willing to change based on what he finds?

            Once the Lord reveals your sin to you what will you do? As believers who are far from perfect, we must recognize our fleshly flaws and allow the Holy Spirit to purge them from us. Scripture teaches us that God takes our sin as far as the East is from the West and remembers them against us no longer (Psalm 103:11-12; Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 8:12). Anger and discontent can tend to linger in humans, but God is “slow to anger & abounding in love & compassion” for his children (Psalm 103:8).

            Inviting the Lord to search in us for that, which offends or angers him is a major step toward spiritual maturity. If anyone isn’t willing to have a ‘house cleaning’, so to speak, they will begin to stagnate spiritually. We must allow for the repeated cleansing and refreshing of our spirit so that we will feel truly alive in the Lord. You’re only hurting yourself if you don’t. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resources: The Life Application Study Bible; www.biblegateway.com; www.biblehub.com.