Walking with the Wise #231: Best & Blessed

"All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but the LORD weighs the spirit."

—Proverbs 16:2

We have a tendency to listen to our hearts, overlooking the fact that they can deceive us (cf. Jeremiah 17:9). As we sojourn through life, there are going to be moments where we believe we are in the right, when we believe our cause is justified and when we believe our motives our pure, but we can all too easily deceive ourselves. This is why we must ask God to search us, as David prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
 Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me,
 and lead me in the way everlasting!”—Psalm 139:23-24.

God is the one who knows us better than we know ourselves, which is why we voluntarily lay our lives out before Him in prayer. It’s amazing to me that during some of the most crucial decision-making points of our lives we don’t seek God in prayer, simply because we are afraid of what He is going to have us do. He might show us that we are in the wrong, and considering we have convinced ourselves that our motives are right, we remove God from the picture. But God wants our best and He knows our hearts and how easily we are deceived. Going before God with naked spirits and listening ears, we must ask Him to show us who we are, reveal our motives, and then act accordingly.

Have you taken your problem before God? Are you afraid of what He might say? He doesn’t want to hurt or keep something from you; rather He wants to give you what is best at the proper time. Lay out your problems and pains before Him, then listen to Him as He speaks to you concerning them, and do what He directs. His way is best and blessed. Amen.