Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

~Psalm 139: 23-24 NIV

I busily cleaned the house one morning when something flabbergasted me. I hadn’t seen it, even though it had been right in front of my face for the past year.

A year ago, I had done some patchwork on my bedroom’s doorframe, which the previous owner’s dog had used as his chew toy. I sanded the areas, filled them, sanded again, and repainted. But as I wiped down the doorframe, something stared me in the face: an area I had neglected to paint when I painted all the others. How could I have possibly missed it, and for a whole year too, I mused. I shook my head, found the touch-up paint, and finished the unfinished task.

For whatever reason, that one patched spot on the doorframe had become obscure, even though each day I walked by it many times. This thought brought my mind to today’s Scripture and made me consider how long it had been since I made the time to simply and prayerfully sit quietly before the Lord. To be quiet before Him, so that He might search my heart and thoughts and point out any obscure sin to which I had become so accustomed. The sin that I no longer recognized for what it was: sin which needed to be confessed. A sin for which I needed to receive forgiveness and wisdom to think and walk according to God’s everlasting way.

How about you? Pray as the psalmist: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Ask God to reveal the obscure thing that you need to confess.

Father God, remind me every day to take time to let You search and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. Open my mind to hear Your voice. Open my will to desire above all to obey Your voice. And open my heart to Your forgiveness and to forgive myself. Open my eyes to see and apply Your everlasting way to my thoughts and behavior. In this way, I can glorify You in all I do, think, and speak. In Christ’s name, amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2025: Lynne Phipps: The Obscure: All Rights Reserved.