Psalm 139:23 (NASB)
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
Bible Commentary
Psalm 139:23 is a Bible verse from another song of praise written by King David, where he invites God more intimately into his heart.
King David must have been extremely confident to invite God to look closely into his heart. Would you and I have the confidence to ask God to look closely into our hearts?
This might seem intimidating if you didn’t know God very well. You might be afraid He would see something ugly in your heart–a bad attitude, wrong thoughts or selfish desires. However, maybe we need to look at our own hearts from a different perspective–the perspective of the Holy Spirit inside of us.
Let us get into the eyeballs so-to-speak of Jesus Christ. If we have invited Christ into our hearts to save us, He lives inside of us and we are joined with Him and His perspective, by faith. Let us see things and people, and especially ourselves, from His perspective–through the eyes of grace.
If you have walked with Christ for a time you hopefully know Him personally as a loving and devoted Heavenly Father Who has always taken good care of you, protected and provided for you, even when you strayed or rebelled from Him. Remembering the cross can give us the confidence to invite Him deeper into our heart, knowing He sacrificed His life because of His great love for us.
Unlocking the Truth – Confidence
King David was a man who knew his humanly limitations and faults, yet he pursued God with confidence because he personally knew God’s mercies and kindnesses. He had experienced it many times out in the field tending sheep, knowing God’s provision and protection from bears and lions, and from his human enemies, as well.
He had spent enough time alone with God to know Him well, to know His heart and His great love for him. He could see himself through the eyes of God.
That is what God yearns for from you and me, as well—that we would invest a bit of time each day with the Bible to get to know His kindness and mercy, so that we can know who we are in Christ. We gain confidence and faith that way.
We are a reflection of our Heavenly Father, made in His image (Genesis 1:27), and the more time we spend with Him and His Word, the more we begin to look like Him and the more we can see ourselves through His eyes, with the delicate balance of mercy and confidence.
Fixing Anxious Thoughts
In Psalm 139:23, David is asking God to see his anxious thoughts—to see what was wrong in his heart, so He could fix it. In the very next Bible verse of Psalm 139:24, David asked God to lead him in the everlasting way, God’s way–the right way.
That’s what a loving father does. He sees what is wrong, but he doesn’t leave you there. He leads you in the right way because He loves you. He helps you see things from a different perspective–His perspective.
Your confidence increases as your knowledge of God’s love and kindness for you increase. You’re not worried about being punished anymore, but are simply led out of fear and into confidence by faith of who you are in Christ, which is glorious freedom and healing. From Jesus’ perspective, we:
- no longer believe we are sick, but we can see ourselves as well because Jesus is well.
- are no longer broke, because we see the riches of Jesus Christ.
- This list can go on and on…
His way is far better than ours. Study Psalm 139:23 and invite God into your heart, so he can lead you in the way everlasting, where you can see from His perspective and be confident and free.
