"Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart." Psalm 26:2 NAS

Were looking at what it means to have our hearts tested and tried. This verse brings with it the great question. Are you ready for this kind of examination on your life by the Lord? Are you a complacent, sitting on the beach far from the waters of service, pew-hugging type of Christian? That might sound offensive to you but it certainly is not meant to be. It is a challenging question that we need to ask ourselves always.

We are here for a purpose and that is to glorify Jesus Christ in our lives and spread the good news of the Gospel. For this to be most effective it starts with allowing Him to prepare us through His refining of our lives. Sometimes that may mean being put into the furnace of testing. He is a loving God full of grace, mercy and justice. Yet He will never force Himself on us. He will always wait until we give Him permission with our lives.

He will however allow things into our lives to point us to Him. He may use trials to draw us closer to Him. His desire is to draw us closer in holiness. That is why it says, “…like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy (1 Peter 1:15-16 NAS)." Again in Ephesians 1:4 it says, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him (NAS).”

Our goal is humble holiness before Him. Our hearts should desire to serve Him with all that we are and that means giving up all that we are. It means dying to ourselves and seeking only His holiness for our lives. The sweetest thing we can do is walk in holiness. This is the humble holiness that comes from a pure conscience that has been washed by the blood of Jesus. There usually has to be some refining in our lives to get us to walk in humble holiness.

We might need to have heat applied to our lives to bring to surface the impurities that hinder our walk and maybe our ability to be used. When we go through the refining pot of the Lord, the silver dross is taken away and then a vessel for honor appears (Prov 25:4). When we have our hearts examined, tested and tried the result will be a spirit of humility and a heart to serve the Savior. We will be able to say, "Follow me, as I follow Christ.”

True testing leads to true holiness, which has the sweet aroma of the Lord in ones life. Take a look at your self today and humbly bow your heart before the most Holy LORD God and ask Him to examine, try and test you. You will be thankful you did and will draw ever closer to the presence of the Lord. You will also grow farther and farther away from the sins that so easily entangle you (Heb 12:1).

Remember if we draw near to God He draws near to us (James 4:8). “Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb 10:22).” So today draw near to the Silversmith of our souls and let Him have His perfect way with you. Then say, "Here am I. Send me! (Isa 6:8)"

In His Wonderful Name,
Adam