Words of Reflection
Too often we approach Lent like it’s a sort of interior “spring cleaning.” We make a list of things in our lives that need some “tidying up,” things that we can see pretty easily that need to be dealt with, and we offer those to God as part of the work of repentance. This is good. It’s an important start. But the journey only begins there.
If we’re honest with ourselves, there are still layers within our soul that need to be uncovered—places of old hurt, unhealthy response, and secret shame that have been with us so long we barely even notice their presence even as they drain the very life from us. Sin has an uncanny ability to weave its way into our lives with cunning and stealth—a small compromise here, a justification there, and before long we find ourselves caught up in a web of self-deception that is hard to break through. Sometimes it’s hard to even see.
This is where we stand in need of supernatural aid. The task of revealing sin and brokenness does not fall to our hands. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. As we make our way to the cross we are invited to offer ourselves to God fully—even those places within us we’d just as soon forget (or maybe already have). The good news is that as we ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts, he is faithful to bring things to the surface that need the healing touch of God.
This is not an easy work. If we’re not careful it can open pathways to regret and shame. But Jesus is a skilled surgeon who has vowed to do no harm. He is here to heal. If he brings our darkness into the light, he does so to reveal his mercy and transform us. We can trust him with our places of deepest need. He stands ready to heal and forgive.
And it begins with a simple prayer: “Search my heart.”
Scripture for Meditation:
Search me, 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 (NIV)
Song: Search Me, Know Me (lyrics here )
Questions for Reflection
As you consider the words “Search me, God,” how does your soul respond to that posture of prayer? Do you feel the warmth of God’s gracious invitation? Or is there some resistance to that level of examination? Offer your response to God and ask him to help you in the way you submit to his healing and forgiving work.
What do you think David meant by “test me and know my thoughts?” How has God done that sort of convicting work in your life? Although never easy, how has it born fruit in your walk with Jesus?
The lyric “worthless affection” is an interesting definition of sin. How do you respond to that? How does it help us to see sin as “affection?” How does it assist the journey of repentance to name it as “worthless?”