Psalm 139:23-24

“Search me, O 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.”

I was born and raised in the state of Washington. Each summer our family would travel back to the panhandle of Oklahoma to visit my mother’s family. It was hot and dry out there on the plains, but there was a concrete water tank for the cattle—and for a small boy to play near and get wet.

I remember one day when I repeatedly kept getting wet. My mom would yell, but my grandma would laugh. (She always was on my side). Grandma found some old clothes and told me that now if I got wet it wouldn’t matter. Immediately I ran to the tank and jumped in! That was not what she intended for me to do, so I was now in trouble with both mom and grandma.

There is a mental activity that causes me considerable pain. It is when I recall sinful things I did when I was a young boy. I know those things caused my parents no end of frustration, but now I know they grieved God as well.

Reflecting upon specific incidents from the days of my life, young or old, I often wish I had made better decisions. It was not that I was such a terrible person, but rather that I made choices without first spending time in prayer and waiting upon God.

Here in Psalm 139:23-24, the Psalmist is expressing his prayer for the searchlight of God’s presence to illuminate the dark areas of his life. I can echo that prayer for my own life. More than anything I want God to search me and reveal to me those things He wants me confess as sins. Here am I Lord, change me!

 Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!

- – - Pastor Cecil