Know Me

Here is a link to last week’s series, Know Me.

Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 19:23 & 24

As Seed Basket concludes our series titled “Know Me,” we will explore two difficult topics.

The first one concerns the fact that believers must endure testing. This is not to keep or earn salvation. If you are truly born again, your name will never be blotted from God’s Book of Life. (Revelation 3:10)

But believers still struggle with daily temptation, anxiety, and fear. So we must look at those moments with honesty and with the help of the Holy Spirit. This testing only ever helps us in our walk with God. Testing from our Father will never harm us. It helps us to grow. (James 1:2 & 3)

Believers find peace in the assurance that God always loves His children. He is everywhere with us. He has known us forever. He keeps our salvation firmly in His grasp. It can never be lost. (John 10:27-28) That has been the theme of the previous verses from Psalm 139.

Take another look, once more, at the key verse. Are there times in your life when you wish God could not see and know the worst things about you?

Of course! All believers can relate to having shame for sin and sorrow for our failures. That is because true believers are grieved by their sin. (2 Corinthians 7:10)

But God loves us like a perfect Father would.

Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.

Psalm 103:13

We know that if we allow the Spirit to search our hearts and reveal to us what He already knows, then we will have great peace. Without that, we could not know the need to confess our sinful deeds and repent. (Psalm 51)

When God reveals our sinful state, we can grow to look more like Jesus. (Romans 8:29)

Now, the second aspect of this great Psalm is often overlooked because some believe that it makes God look bad. We must study and know the heart of God to get through the difficult passages of the Scripture. We should never skip over them. And we should certainly never make excuses for God, as if He is guilty. Take a look at verses 19-22.

If only You would put the wicked to death, God; Leave me, you men of bloodshed.

For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain.

Do I not hate those who hate You, Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.

Psalm 139:19-22

God is love. His love is perfect, just like His wrath for sin is perfect and just. He does not judge people with prideful vengeance or malice. His Word is full of examples of Him reaching lost people. John 3:17 tells us that He is not willing for anyone to perish.

Also, this Psalm is not David’s way of seeking God’s permission to kill wicked people. He was simply grieved by the way wicked people dishonored God.

David’s prayer was for God to put an end to wicked people according to His divine will. The theme of God’s patience and His desire for the wicked to repent is echoed in 2 Peter 3:9.

As devoted believers, we should always stand up for our convictions. We should despise the wickedness perpetrated by people. But we are not to hate, judge, or condemn them.

Instead, believers should pray for the lost and share the Gospel. We should be thankful that God’s grace has rested upon us. If you know Him, then you are so blessed. You are not on the outside looking in. You are saved.

Amazing grace!

How sweet the sound.

It saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now, am found.

Was blind, but now I see.¹

Share the Good News in your world!

Isaiah 52:7

1. Amazing Grace
   John Newton
   ca. 1775 ↩︎

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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