Surrendered

Surrendered

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139: 23 ‭-‬ 24 KJV

David pens down the words of this psalm, with highlights on the limits of man and the limitless and unsearchable power of God. It takes a man with a personal experience of this God to be able to write these words. Until a man has searched for and tried other options, he will never know the value of the very personal knowledge of God. Until a man has been pushed to the extreme and has come to a point of no return, he may never know who God is, what he offers and the eternal consequences of a life that knows God. This is the focus of today's extract. 

Man by nature is comfortable around self-deceit. Man can convince himself that white is black if it fits the narrative he seeks to pursue. The fall of man into sin opened the door to fallacy, falsehood and deception. Man needs the help of the true God to see himself for who he really is. Man cannot come to that realisation all by himself without the help of God. No wonder the psalmist asked God to do the work Only He could do in a man's life, which is to show man who he really is. God is true as well as the Truth, and all he does is based on his nature, which is truth. He owes no man any allegiance, and by his nature, he is committed to all who truly seek him. Where do you stand? 

The prayer of the writer of this psalm is instructive: he is asking God to search and try him; I can't be trusted to see myself as God sees. I am asking him to turn his light on me and expose anything he does not like or cannot use in me, so I can make the necessary amendments. It's by his light that the darkness in me is revealed. It is by his light that all secret and alien alliances are exposed and dealt with. I am not asking to know my own heart; God's verdict on the human heart as corrupt and desperately wicked makes it impossible for me to trust my own view when it comes to my own heart. My thoughts need to be brought unto daily submission and surrender to the trying and cleansing power of God. He is the only one who can do a work in the heart that will not only be of great use down here on earth, but will also impact eternity. 

My best gift is to God is total surrender. As long as I claim ownership of my life, I will not admit that I need help. God is able to see the parts of me that are not clear to me, which I may have hid behind a lot of pretence and hypocrisy. I may know how to keep up appearances, but when God takes a hold of me, all the pretence is stripped away and I see myself for who I really am, and I can take the necessary steps to make corrections. God wants to lead me down the path of peace and joy; he wants to take me all the way into eternal life. He does not do half-measures, where he takes a man on a journey and then abandon him. He is a God of completion, who takes a man by his hand, equips him for all he needs for life and Godliness, and then stays with the man until the end comes. 

I note that it is his hand that leads, not mine. I do not have the wisdom, knowledge or understanding of what is required, but God is more than willing and capable of providing. He is all I need, as well as have all I need. He must deal with the nature of sin in my natural man, so that his life can then find full expression in and through me. He does all of these things, at no price, except my total surrender to, and acceptance of all that God is. Can that be said of me? Can that be said of you? His time of favour is here.