Search me

O LORD, you have searched me
       and you know me.

 2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.

 3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
       you are familiar with all my ways.

 4 Before a word is on my tongue
       you know it completely, O LORD.

 5 You hem me in—behind and before;
       you have laid your hand upon me.

 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
       too lofty for me to attain.

 7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
       Where can I flee from your presence?

 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
       if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
       if I settle on the far side of the sea,

 10 even there your hand will guide me,
       your right hand will hold me fast.

 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
       and the light become night around me,”

 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
       the night will shine like the day,
       for darkness is as light to you.

 13 For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.

 15 My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

 16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.

 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
       How vast is the sum of them!

 18 Were I to count them,
       they would outnumber the grains of sand.
       When I awake,
       I am still with you.

 19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
       Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

 20 They speak of you with evil intent;
       your adversaries misuse your name.

 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
       and abhor those who rise up against you?

 22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
       I count them my enemies.

 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
       test me and know my anxious thoughts.

 24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
       and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139

 

God’s knowledge of us is perfect. He is aware of all of our actions and thoughts and takes notice of every step, right or wrong, that we take. He knows whether we choose to walk in Truth, what we walk toward and whom we are walking with. When we withdraw from the world, though the world may not notice, He knows our hearts and finds us. He knows the intention of every word that we speak. No matter where we are or how much we think we are hidden, we cannot hide from God.

God is everywhere and though we may not see Him, He is always aware of our circumstances. Our sin and deceitful actions cannot be hidden from God and no matter how much we try to disguise ourselves He sees the truth. Even our most secret of sin is very visible to God and though we fail Him, because we are His child, we cannot be removed from His comfort and love or be separated from Him. His insurmountable mercy and grace have been lavished upon us and should be our reason to rejoice. God knows every part of our heart. Our desire should be that of prayer and meditation allowing His Word and Spirit to permeate our hearts. In this, the condition of our heart will be revealed and we may walk righteously in truth.

“Father, search our hearts and reveal to us what is unclean and dishonoring to You. May we always be mindful of Your unfailing mercy and love. Let us never forget that You love us.”

 

Thank you

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy”

Philippians 1:3-4

This blog has been up and running for almost a year and so for almost a year, I have shared with readers where I am in my walk and what God has been teaching me. This past year for me has been extremely difficult, as God has tested me in so many different ways. There has been tremendous hurt and betrayal but I have also been blessed in amazing, amazing ways. I have experienced love in a way that I have never known and have finally understood what being in God’s will looked like and meant. He has taught me so very much and I am more than thankful for the opportunities that He has laid before me to share who He is in my life and what He has done. I want to thank all those who have followed this blog and who have helped to hold me accountable. Your encouragement and faithfulness through friendship has been amazing! I have been tremendously blessed by your love and support as I pressed on to do what I felt led to do.

As the year ends, I just wanted to express my thankfulness to you all and wish each of you a wonderful Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our awesome Savior. May your new year be blessed with His love, mercy and grace.

 

Stop the World

“Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.”

Psalm 22:21

“I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints— but let them not return to folly.”

Psalm 85:8

Have you become completely overwhelmed by the senseless noise and commotion of this world? So many distractions surround us that break down our every defense against the enemy of this world. We become worn down and desperate to hear some kind of truth, telling us which way to go because our focus has become blurred and we have lost our way.

We just need the world to stop so we can get off and regain our focus and we need to find an escape from that which takes our eyes off the Savior. We need to find ourselves still before Him and before we make another move in our life, we need to seek His face and wait for His truth to speak to our hearts. We must find ourselves humbled before Him, trying not to prove anything but just allowing Him to move within our life. We need the very Truth of His Word, more than anything else, to speak to our hearts and we need to be willing to turn over every moment of our precious time to Him and to nothing else.

When we are ready to listen to what He has to say, ready to spend time with Him and ready fully and completely to submit to His will, the noise will end. When we finally come to a place that we are ready to get off the overwhelming ride that can be our life and turn to Him, we then will find a peace and satisfaction that this world can never offer to us.

Abounding Love

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15

Many walk around finding it necessary to bring down others in order to feel as if their own life makes more sense. We find ourselves wrapped up in sin and the ways of the world and become blind to God’s truth and so we begin attacking those around us who focus on truth and try to walk in a way that is pleasing to God. In a sense, you could say that we are spiritual bullies. We tend to rebel and blame others as our reason for not attending church because it is easier than recognizing our own faults and failures. Why focus on our own faults and the mistakes we have made in our lives when we can place the blame on someone else. We are choosing to pull away from God and walk in disobedience rather than walking in truth and it is heartbreaking to God.

God is compassionate and abounding in love and more often times than not we have trouble forgiving others or showing mercy or moving past hurt because we have not discovered the depths of God’s mercy in our own lives.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

Psalm 51:1

What excuses do you throw at the world when you are down? Do you tend to blame others for your lack of commitment to Christ? Do you find yourself finding it necessary to hurt others in order to make yourself feel better? What is the condition of your heart? Whom are you trying to please? We have a Father in Heaven who loves us and wants nothing more than to be the center of our world. He wants us to be wrapped up in His love so that we do not even notice the punches that the world throws our way. When we are wrapped in His arms and in His love, we can overcome any attack that crosses our path as well as forgive those who hurt us, and most importantly love them.

Examine your heart. Are you that rebellious child that needs discipline from your Father? Maybe you are unmerciful and are denying others the mercy that they need so much. Rebellion and disobedience will keep you from feeling love and mercy from God. Stop going through the motions “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate.” (Joel 2:13)