How Is Your Heart?

“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.”  (Psalm 139:23-24)

It's easy to be fooled into thinking that your heart is in pretty good condition.  And so perhaps you've had thoughts like this:

1) I'm a good person.

2) I attend church twice a week.

3) I go to a weekly Bible study.

4) I keep up with my daily devotionals.

5) I volunteer in my community.

6) I tithe to my church.

7) I'm kind to my family.

8) I pray for my friends.

Sound familiar?  We can focus on the peripheral so much so that we forget to dig a little deeper and see what's really going on inside our hearts.  Well, I've discovered a sure-fire method that will quickly expose the condition of the heart.  Here it is: it's driving!

When you're driving, it seems like the real you comes to the forefront.  I know that I would never want someone to record the thoughts that go through my mind or the words that exit my mouth when I'm operating a moving vehicle.  They're not R-rated, but I sure wouldn't want them inscribed on my tombstone. 

These thoughts happen fairly regularly.  Like recently, as I made my way through town.  I noticed how many people did not use their turn signals.  Other folks cut me off while trying to get in front of other slow drivers in other lanes.  And another driver made a left-hand turn from a right lane.

In these incidents, what really shocked me were my reactions to all this.  Afterward, I immediately wondered, "did I really think that? My heart is so ugly. Oh, dear God. Please help me!"

I'm not going to tell you what I was thinking, because I am ashamed.  But I will tell you this: it exposed the dark corners of my heart.  I saw how horribly corroded and nasty it was, like what you experience when you pull up the stopper from your kitchen garbage disposal. Foul!

I saw the judgment.  I saw the pride.  I saw the lack of love and forgiveness.  It's gunk that needs to be cleaned out with bleach on a consistent basis.  But bleach smells, it's strong and it stings.  Who really wants that?  Yet, even though ridding sin from our lives is hard to do, it's absolutely essential if we are to stay spiritually healthy.

While I'm disappointed in my condition, I'm strangely thankful that driving is doing such a good job of testing me and showing what's going on in my heart.  And until I'm old and decrepit, and can't maneuver a vehicle anymore, I know that my next heart check is just one keyed ignition, one gear change and one gas pedal away.

If not driving, are there other situations or activities in your life that "put the squeeze" on you and really show what's going on in your heart?  Maybe it's an individual who just knows how to push your buttons.  Or perhaps the ugliness comes out when you're dealing with customer service personnel.

Whatever it is that exposes the ugliness, ask the Lord to examine your heart, and to change you from the inside out.

Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him, and experience an amazing 
change in your own life.

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