{"id":2940,"date":"2020-12-20T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=2940"},"modified":"2020-12-09T16:32:52","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T21:32:52","slug":"how-much-have-you-let-god-search-your-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2020\/12\/20\/how-much-have-you-let-god-search-your-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LET GOD SEARCH YOUR HEART?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4 minute read<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>\u201cSearch me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,&nbsp; and lead me in the way everlasting.\u201d (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let God search your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shining God\u2019s light into the dark spaces of our hearts brings freedom.&nbsp; All of us are operating under some kind of lie.&nbsp; We frequently believe things that aren\u2019t true.&nbsp; Our limited perspective allows easy deception.&nbsp; If we don\u2019t give God access to the nooks and crevices of our spirit, we will never know His truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, I\u2019ve heard many messages on this passage.&nbsp; Typically, the pastor talks about how brave you are when you pray this bold prayer over your life\u2014in other words, actively asking God to search your heart takes courage.&nbsp; However, for me, having God search my heart isn\u2019t brave; it\u2019s necessary.&nbsp; If I don\u2019t allow God into the crevices, I can\u2019t live my life to the fullest as He intends.&nbsp; Only with complete transparency can I live in total fullness.&nbsp; Therefore, when I ask God to search my heart, I know the one who benefits most is me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Transparency decreases anxiety.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we are transparent with God, He reduces our anxiety.&nbsp; Beginning a conversation with Him is necessary for God to act.&nbsp; Asking Him to search your heart leads to peace that surpasses all understanding.&nbsp; Peter tells us we are to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cCast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.\u201d (<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20Peter%205%3A7&amp;version=NIV\"><em>1 Peter 5:7 NIV<\/em><\/a><em>)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each of us have hidden things in our heart which are causing us anxiety.&nbsp; Only when we open ourselves up for God\u2019s inspection can He reveal what is unseen.&nbsp; Then, we can truly cast our cares to the One who loves us most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other part to God\u2019s searching, He reveals areas of offense.&nbsp; For me, these revelations usually lead to an action.&nbsp; Maybe my communication in a conversation wasn\u2019t loving.&nbsp; Or perhaps, I\u2019m deceiving myself in someway.&nbsp; The closer I grow to God, the more sensitive my spirit is to the sin within me.&nbsp; None of us are without sin, only Jesus.&nbsp; God showing us our sin, gives us the opportunity to repent and grow deeper into Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Allowing God to search my heart illuminated my fear of people.&nbsp; Past relational hurts only feeds into the apprehension I have.&nbsp; When God enters into the part of my heart where those hurts live, He brings healing.&nbsp; God also shows me my part in the conflict, which helps me make amends.&nbsp; If we don\u2019t allow God to search our hearts, we never find our way to the place that is everlasting.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start small.\u00a0 Open a piece of your heart to God you are afraid to give Him.\u00a0 Let Him search you.\u00a0 In Him, you will find life to the full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Question of the Day:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">What area of your heart are you not letting God into today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Further Reading:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Haggai%201&amp;version=NIV\">Haggai 1:1-2:23 NIV<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Revelation%2011%3A19&amp;version=NIV\">Revelation 11:1-19 NIV<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Psalm%20139&amp;version=NIV\">Psalm 139:1-24 NIV<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Proverbs%2030:15-16&amp;version=ESV\">Proverbs 30:15-16 NIV<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>4 minute read \u201cSearch me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,&nbsp; and lead me in the way everlasting.\u201d (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV) Let God search your heart. Shining God\u2019s light into the dark spaces of our hearts brings freedom.&nbsp; All of&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2020\/12\/20\/how-much-have-you-let-god-search-your-heart\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LET GOD SEARCH YOUR HEART?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2940"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2944,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2940\/revisions\/2944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}