Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. - Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)

Have you ever stopped to think about WHY the Psalmist had to ask God to search his heart and thoughts; to point out anything that offends?  I mean, they are his thoughts after all, so why would he – or any of us – need God search to our hearts and minds?

Let me explain it with an example...

Picture a tiger trap, like in the old “Tarzan” movies.  You dig a pit, line it with spikes, and you’re all set, right?  Not exactly!  You have a hole filled with painful things, but you need to cover it!  So, you grab sticks and leaves, whatever you can find, to cover the hole and make it unrecognizable!  It LOOKS the same as everything else around it, but it’s not!

Now, how many of you would volunteer to run down the path and over the trap?  Not many, right?  When the covering gives way, what’s underneath is going to hurt...very, very badly…

But what does this have to do with the verses in Psalms?  A lot of us have pain in our past; trauma or critical events that have ripped painful holes in our lives.  When this happens, we have two choices:

Barry Rudesill is a Pastor, speaker, and co-creator of The Trek. (www.thetrek.org)