The Bible gives us at least six ways we can cultivate a pure heart. In this post we’ll take a look at the fifth way we can do that.
God says, if I’m going to keep my heart pure, then fifth, I need to examine my heart. It was said of David that he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). Well the question begs: How did David get such a heart? David had the kind of heart he had because he regularly examined his heart, looking for anything that might corrupt it. In Psalm 4:4 David wrote, “Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.” Search here means examine.
I recently had my annual physical. If you get one each year you know that if you’re a man the doctor will tell you to do regular testicular exams, keeping an eye out for any unusual bumps. If you’re a woman the doctor will tell you to do regular breast exams (also to keep an out for an unusual bumps). The reason they tell you to do this is because if you develop cancer, they want to catch it early. It’s so much easier to treat it early on vs once it’s taken roots and settled in and progressed in its various stages.
Well this is the very reason David would check his heart regularly. If any sin sprouted and took root he wanted to catch it early on for it’s easier to pull weeds than to uproot a tree. Both are possible but one is so much easier than the other.
So when’s the last time you had a spiritual heart exam? When’s the last time you laid in bed at night and checked for bumps in your character, and then were quiet before God? David said “search your hearts and be silent.” Why did he say to be silent? Because this gives God the opportunity to speak to your heart and show you what needs to go. How specifically do you examine your heart you might ask? David tells us how he did it. We learn from Psalm 139:23-24 that David would say, “Search me, 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.” That’s how we examine our hearts too. We ask God “Is there any offensive way in me?” and then we stay quiet allowing God to speak to our heart.
Maybe you’re scared to do this for fear of what the Lord might point out, but let me encourage you with this verse that points out WHY God wants to probe our hearts. God said in Jeremiah 17:10, “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” God doesn’t probe our hearts to condemn us, rather to get rid of that which is blocking his blessings from our lives. So don’t be afraid of God’s examination. You might hate going for a check up with your doctor, but there’s nothing to fear going for a check up with your Great Physician.