Was that in there?

...if my people who are called by my name become humble and pray, and look for me, and turn away from their evil ways, then I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

If my people - notice that God doesn't say 'when', but 'if'. There is a condition - we must make the first move when it comes to repentance. This message isn't written to those who don't already have a relationship with him - it is written to those 'called by his name'. These are believers who obviously have grown cold, a little too apathetic and indifferent. This is where we find ourselves whenever we allow our focus to become clouded by the things of this world - coldness drifts in, hunger begins to be fulfilled by something other than his presence. If we want to 'come back' from wherever it is we have drifted, it begins by humbling ourselves and asking for his help to return!

Humble yourself, pray, and look for him - these are three very specific actions that are involved in repentance. First, we must recognize we aren't on the right path. This oftentimes requires more than a bit of humility because we might just want to hide our misguided adventures and not be very open about them. When we are finally willing to admit them, we are on the path to restoration. Then we are to pray - talk with God about what we realize to have been our failure. At this point, don't be surprised when God shows us something entirely different that led to the choices we have made. We might think it is one thing that got us off course, but when he shows us there is something quite different that led to the compromise, we need to listen intently.

Look for him - it is only in seeking that we find things. Have you ever noticed the urgency that comes when we are seeking something we have need of or have misplaced? We uncover a good many other things in the process, don't we? Things we may have forgotten about entirely, but that clutter up our lives. When we move toward confession, we might just discover there are a few more things we uncover that we need to lay out on the table before God, as well. Perhaps this is where the 'turning away' comes. As we discover the 'stuff' we didn't realize was tucked away, we don't want to just leave it there - we want to get it out in the open and rid ourselves of it. Repentance isn't always convenient, easy, or without complications. It is necessary, though! It is where we find ourselves ridding ourselves of what only clutters our lives and makes things more difficult for us. Just sayin!

Afraid to ask?

 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)

Have you ever prayer a similar prayer? It is a kind of scary thing to ask God to test your heart and mind to see if there is any offensive stuff there, isn't it? You almost don't want to ask because you know there is! When God points out what 'offends' him, he doesn't do it to humiliate us, or even to chastise us. He does it to show us how deeply he loves us - because he wants us to be free of all that garbage that takes up emotional, mental, or physical space in our lives.

To be led, one must submit to the one leading. To be whole, one must submit to the one capable of ridding us of all the stuff that keeps us 'broken' and 'hurt'. When we don't know the way, we seek guidance via a mapping service, GPS, or the good old way of asking someone for directions. Why do we not ask God to show us where our lives are actually being held 'captive' by our thoughts, emotions, or past hurts? Perhaps it is because we have held onto those things for so long that we just don't see any way past them. There is always a way when we ask God to show us the way.

Do you think God really doesn't know our hearts without that 'testing' process our psalmist is seeking? He does, but have you ever considered that the 'testing' process is really a way of getting us to know our own hearts as well as God knows them? Maybe we are turned off by the term 'test', because we think testing has a negative connotation. Yes, testing includes investigation and analysis, but it also involves a certain amount of 'corroboration' - affirmation, validation, and verification. We likely know a bit of what is there, but when we ask God to test our hearts, we are asking him to 'validate' or 'verify' what we believe to be there. 

There is nothing that delights his heart more than to hear us ask for his view into our minds and heart. He won't shame us, but he will help us see the healing that is possible when he is given access to those areas that have held us captive for so long. So, don't hesitate to ask - you might just be dazzled by what you discover with his help! Just sayin!