"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

Last week we looked into some Scriptures that spoke of the searching of
our hearts. This week let us look into the second plea of this pray of King
David's [and our own]. 'Try me and know my anxious thoughts.'

"Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible" defines the Hebrew word
'try' in part as follows:
Bachan = to test; to investigate: examine, prove, tempt, try.

This being so, the person praying this prayer is asking that his/her life be
examined and tested. Of a life tested by the Lord, Scripture tells us that:
*The trying is a refining process:
"But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10

"For Thou hast tried us, O God;
Thou hast refined us as silver is refined." Psalm 66:10

"And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name
And I will answer them;
I will say, 'They are My people,'
And they will say, 'The Lord is my God.'" Zechariah 13:9

Malachi 3:3 tells us,
"And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the
sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may
present to the Lord offerings in righteousness."

1 Peter 1:7 says,
"That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is
perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise
and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Therefore we see in 1 Peter 4:12,
"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes
upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to
you."

*There is the test of the storm:
"Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I
will show you whom he is like:
He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon
the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and
could not shake it, because had been well build." Luke 6:47-48 (Yes, the
storms will come, but this is all to establish God's own people on the solid
Rock, our Savior and Lord!)

*There will be a final test:
Christ is our foundation, so Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 3,
"...But let each man be careful how he builds upon it." Vs. 10
"Each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it
is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of
each man's work." Vs. 13

And of those anxious thoughts we have these precious words in Philippians
4:6-7 which we all know and depend on,
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Our God is an awesome God and we gratefully thank Him for His mighty
work in conforming us to the image of Christ Jesus our Lord. Hallelujah!
Amen