Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-224
After a couple of hard freezes one winter, the sun was finally shining. I stepped outside to see that the bed of impatiens in our front yard had disappeared, apparently killed by the frost. In their place was a variety of weeds that had been growing, hidden beneath the cover of flowers. Before today I’d been unaware of them, but now that the awning of red, white, and pink blooms had died away, the weeds were all too noticeable. The flowers had vanished, but the weeds had survived.
As spring approached, other weeds shot up too, lone innocuous ones—tall, thin and lacy, but hardly noticeable among the other plantings. Because the more virulent and intrusive vines and runaway fern posed a more difficult challenge, I went after them, and ignored these delicate weeds, leaving them for later. Eventually, they grew taller and multiplied all over the yard. Realizing I had an escalating problem, I began yanking them from the ground, but as I jerked the stems, little seeds flew off and scattered everywhere.
The Deception of Innocuous Weeds
These weeds reminded me of some hidden things in the heart we might not want to think about. Jeremiah 17:9-10 tells us “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Unrecognized sin may lie in wait like the weeds hidden beneath my impatiens, unnoticed and seemingly innocuous. Negative effects of this sin may not surface for years as these hidden things of the heart fester and sprout beneath the cover of a pleasant personality.
Often these are not egregious seeming sins—the blatant sins we categorize as illegal, immoral, or cruel. Some begin as a white lie, a puff of pride, a bitter reaction, a selfish thought, or a harsh word. Inconspicuous sins like these can lurk beneath our false facade and seem innocuous like the delicate Florida Queen Anne’s lace that spawned throughout my flower beds. When we hold them up beside the more intrusive, neon flashing sins of our neighbor, our co-worker, our parent or our mate, they seem to pale in comparison. We shrug them off as merely a sign of being human. We’re not expected to be perfect after all.
The time comes, however, when we find ourselves wrestling in our own willfulness – a constant veering off course to do things our own way instead of God’s. When we finally become aware of the severity of our sin, its persistence may have already caused havoc in our character, circumstances, or relationships. We cringe at the seeds of ugliness these hidden things of the heart have spawned.
This happened to me. When crisis stripped away the security and comfort in my life, the conviction of sin poked its ugly head through the frozen petals of my smiling exterior and hacked into my consciousness. There I saw the straggly vine of self-righteousness and pride and realized the hurtful consequences.
Recognizing the Hidden Things of the Heart
How do we recognize these hidden things of the heart since we are often blind to what is hidden so deep within our personalities? Psalm 19:12-14 says, “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.
If we are truly sincere about wanting to address the weeds and blemishes in our character, the first thing we need is a teachable spirit. Instead of being defensive, we must open ourselves to hearing the truth even if it hurts—even to the point of asking those close to us if they see flaws we should address. Most of all, it’s important that we pray and spend time in God’s Word, asking God to show us the hidden things in our hearts and changes He wants to make in us.
If we humbly search our hearts and honestly look at our actions, what will we find? Are we envious? Or covetous of another’s success? Do we use witty remarks that reek of sarcasm and may unwittingly drive a knife into another’s self-esteem? Do we harbor unforgiveness, which starts out as a little grudge, but takes root as a bitter cancer to our soul? Do we feel self-righteous in the face of another’s weakness? Do we glory in the pride of our accomplishments that are actually gifts from God? Do we convince ourselves that a crafty manipulation of money or goods isn’t stealing—although it is? Are we caught up in the flirtatious verbal tinkering with another person’s reputation that scripture condemns as gossip? Or deep within our hearts are we guilty of the shortcoming shared by us all—the tug of selfishness that pulls us back into ourselves and keeps us imprisoned in a mind alien to God?
When Nathan confronted David about his sexual sin, David did not hesitate to admit his culpability. With a humble and teachable spirit, David immediately repented and accepted the punishment the Lord had for him.
“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.” David cried out in Psalm 51: 4, 7 & 8. “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.”
When we walk with God, we don’t have to fear condemnation. He knows our weaknesses. He will gently reveal to us the dark spots in our character and the hidden things of the heart. When we honestly acknowledge the weeds that hover menacingly within our lives and seek God’s forgiveness, He will lead us in the way everlasting.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. (2 Corinthians 13:5)
©Linda Rooks 2019
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