The Bible gives us at least six ways we can cultivate a pure heart. In this post we’ll look at the fourth way we can do that.
God says, if I’m going to keep my heart pure, then fourth, I need to invite God’s testing. The Bible says that God searches the heart, weighs the heart, strengthens the heart, directs the heart and tests the heart. And David invited God’s testing. We read of this invitation in Psalm 26:2 where David said, “Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind…” David invited God to test his heart. This is a great way to discover what impurities are in our hearts. Proverbs 17:3 says, “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.” As fire reveals the impurities in silver and gold, so testing reveals the impurities in our hearts.
As a diabetic I have to test my blood sugar levels 4x a day (before breakfast, before lunch, before dinner and before bed. My blood sugar levels are supposed to be between 90 and 130 and these little tests reveal where my levels are actually at. If a certain test reveals my blood sugar is below 90 that means I need to eat something. If a certain test reveals my blood sugar is above 130 that means I need to inject myself with some insulin to get it back down to a healthy level. Now it’s important to note that the tests don’t determine my blood sugar levels, rather they simply reveal what they already are.
In the same way, God is going to test your heart. And the test isn’t for God. It’s for you. God already knows where your heart is at spiritually speaking. But that information is only revealed to you through testing. And the testing reveals vital information to you about what you might need to do to get your heart where it needs to be before God.
So every morning when you wake up you need to be ready for testing. As with the Israelites, God will use testing to show us what’s truly in our hearts. Pass the test and like David in 1 Chronicles 29:17, you can say “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.”