God’s Searchlight

“Search me, O 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 139:23-24 NASB

Autobiographies allow famous people to tell their stories, explain their actions, and give their perspectives. But as Karl Barth, the 20th-century Swiss theologian, observed, people often use autobiographies to rationalize and justify instead.

Barth realized how easily we develop distorted opinions about ourselves and are biased and blind to our weaknesses. Barth once wrote that “every autobiography is a dubious enterprise.” No person can “survey himself even in the present moment, any more than in the whole of his past.” None of us can be objective.

David reached a similar conclusion. He realized how little he knew about his own life. God alone really knew him. God knew what he would say before he spoke. God knew what David did in secret, for even the “darkness is not dark to You” (v. 12). God knew his future: “In Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me” (v. 16).

Many people reject this attitude, confident that they understand themselves and can chart their own course. But they fail to understand why we need God’s searchlight. True contentment comes when we trust Him. We have peace when we humble ourselves before Him. We have perspective when we fill our hearts and minds with His Word. We have freedom when we are clean in His sight. We are fulfilled when we are open and vulnerable before Him.

Reflection Question: Write a prayer asking God to reveal and forgive any hidden sins in your life.