Search Your Heart Ps. 139:23 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
When you do or say anything important, you must search your heart and ask yourself, “Why am I going to do this; why am I going to say that?” These questions address the true motive of your heart. God knows your heart [Acts 15:8]. And if you are truly interested in knowing what God sees in there as the motive for what you are going to do or say, he’ll show you. Most people aren’t interested in knowing, but they ought to be. Why must you search your heart?
Because you must understand your motive – motive is what causes a person to do something or act in a certain way. In 1 Sam 17:28-29 Eliab asked David, “Why camest thou down hither?” And David answered, “Is there not a cause?” Yes sir, there is a cause for everything you do and say. And unless your motive is pure, you are going to encounter problems, if not down here, at the judgment seat of Christ. So, you must search your heart before God and check your motive. People have a terrible time with this.
Because your heart is deceitful – Jer 17:9-10 – when you deceive others, you try to convince them you are right. When you are deceived, you have convinced yourself that you are right. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes [Prov 12:15]. You now believe what you have been telling others. I used to say of certain salesmen that they’d go broke buying the “good deals” they sell. You don’t need to sell yourself or others on something when it’s right.
Because you’ll be making a big mistake – if your motive isn’t pure and your heart is deceived, you will get yourself, and perhaps others, into a jam. You can pretend that everything is going to be all right and that you can get God to bless what you’re doing. But it won’t work out the way you think. Your expectation will not be met [Prov 10:28, “the expectation of the wicked shall perish”]. You say, “But I’m saved.” Yeah, but your heart is still desperately wicked.
How do you search your heart?
Be honest with God – line up with his words [Prov 16:2, the Lord weigheth the spirits]. This takes a diligent effort to prayerfully consider the thing you’re doing or saying and understand from the scripture where God is on it [Heb 4:12-13]. He’ll show you things that you never imagined and he will deal with the root of the situation. He’s get to the heart of the matter.
Be honest with yourself – quit making excuses for what you are doing. Quit trying to convince yourself. Get down to the truth of what you are doing. When you get there, you will know. Your finger will be right on the problem.
Be honest with others who are very close to you – you know when you are lying to cover your motives. You know when you are carefully crafting your words to put your actions is the best light. You know the “right” answers to give when questioned.
Be honest with your counselor(s) – hearken to counsel [Prov 12:15 he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise]. That’s not just seeking counsel. That’s hearkening to counsel. There are others who know you and the situation well. They can show you things that you cannot see on your own because they are not emotionally involved; they are not connected to the situation.
Conclusion: when you find the truth, then follow the truth, not what you made the thing out to be. And change course to line up your heart, your words and your actions with God.