Dear Faith Family,
Getting to know ourselves in and through others, even the Other, is not our preferred method of self-discovery. We'd often prefer self-reflection to an external evaluation if we are honest. If we control our narrative, so we reason, then at least we know where we stand.
The problem, however, is, as Richard Foster pointed out, "If the examination is solely a self-examination, we will always end up with excessive praise or blame." The stories we tell ourselves are rarely the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Which is why we so need the help of God, as the psalmist so enthusiastically declares!
Search me, O God and know my heart!
Examine me and know my disquieting thoughts,
And see if there is any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way ancient and everlasting.(Psalm 139: 23-24)
But here is the thing, exams always seem to raise our anxiety, no matter who administrates them. That is unless we are sure of the outcome.
What if we were certain that God's exhaustive knowledge of us would reveal nothing less than His delight and the promise of pleasing Him? It seems to me that only such faith could explain the unabashed excitement of the psalmist before God. The unanxious plea for exposing revelation has to be rooted in some assurance of what God will find. Right?
So what does the psalmist know? Why his self-assessment may not always be spot on, what the psalmist's "soul knows very well" in God's abiding knowledge of him, is that even amongst the disquieting thoughts and grievous ways, God will reveal one who is "fearfully set apart" (Psalm 139:14).
Imagine the richness of such a life. Confidence and courage would energize one so certain of who they are and what they are for, something grand and possible. Such a person could genuinely give themselves away without fear, naivete, or trying to prove something. Can you imagine what would be possible in your life if you too possessed such hope?
The apostle Paul says we don't have to wonder about if, though we will surely have some growing it to do:
God chose to make known how great...are the riches of...Christ in you, the hope of glory...that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:27,29)
The inescapable truth of faith in the gospel is that no matter our history or habits when our hearts are exposed, what is found in us is Jesus. What is uncovered is "God at work in us, to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). For, in the words of C.S. Lewis,
"The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God...to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness...to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son--it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is."
So this week, my friends, because the hope of glory is so assured, let us, like the psalmist, unanxiously plea for a life lived richly in who God knows us to be and who we are becoming in Jesus.
Father, give us wise minds and spirits attuned to Your will. With hearts attuned to Yours, let us acquire a thorough understanding of the ways You work. May we live well for the Master, making Him proud as we work hard in Your creation. Father, as we learn more and more how You work, let that knowledge shape how we do our work.
Grant us the strength to strive with hope for the long haul—not a grim strength of gritted teeth, but the glory-strength that Jesus gives. Your strength endures the unendurable and spills into joy.
Thank You, Father, for making us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that You have for us.
In Jesus, our hope of glory, we pray. Amen.
Love you, faith family! God bless.