How to Examine Your Heart
The Lord recently blessed my wife and I with the ability to purchase a new home. We had to wait for the builders to finish the construction though because it was a newly built home and was only partially completed. As it drew nearer to the completion date, we had to hire an inspector to make sure there were no errors in the foundation or building itself. Even though it was built by professionals with a lot of experience, we still had to have the inspector go through it carefully to make sure there were no hidden problems that might have been accidentally overlooked or possibly even covered up purposefully. We also had to inspect it ourselves. We had to go through the home and mark every spot that was not completed perfectly to our satisfaction, so it could be repaired before we moved into the home. Everything in the inspector’s report had to be addressed by the builder, even if it was going to be costly for them to repair it. Nothing could be swept under the rug or ignored, no matter how small the error.
Why were we having to be so careful? Damaged foundations or shoddy work will eventually lead to cracks or other visible signs, but if we don’t catch them early, those damages might end up being significant. If a storm comes and there are weakened areas in the foundation or framing, the home might collapse and harm those living inside. Some inspections should be ongoing even after moving into the home. We should have the foundation, roof, and other large items checked regularly to make sure there are no signs of damage that might lead to greater damage in the future.
Our bodies are the temple of God, and we should be examining them regularly to make sure we are a suitable residence for Him to dwell within. I am not speaking only of our physical bodies and minds but also of our spirit and souls. Our heart is the center of our body, but I am not referring to the heart of our physical body that pumps blood. I am speaking of the heart of our soul that holds our emotions and our identity as sons and daughters of God. It is in this place within us where we are to examine ourselves for any errors or harmful ways that Paul spoke about in 1 Corinthians 11:24-32. He said, “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body. For this reason, many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” We are to be examining our hearts for any sin or errors that might grieve the Holy Spirit within us, so we might pray for it to be removed from our lives and participate in the removal by dying to our flesh daily.
Our lives should also be examined regularly to ensure that we are building upon a foundation that is laid in Jesus Christ. We must make sure our hearts are aligned with the Father’s will in all things because everything that is of our flesh or our own desires will burn away when we are standing in the fire of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 3:12 says, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’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 one’s work. If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire.” If we are building upon a foundation laid by the blood of Jesus, we only risk missing out on a reward, but who wants to lose out on that? What else are we going to be able to bring to lay down at the feet of the One who gave His life for us? There is a way for us to be confident that we will receive a reward when we enter into heaven though. If we only allow the Father’s works to be in us like Jesus did when He walked on this planet, we will lose nothing when the quality of our work is tested by the fire because they will be the Father’s works, and He does all things perfectly.
How will we know if we are aligned with the Father’s will, and it is His works being manifested in us? Galatians 5:19 says, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” If we examine ourselves and we see the deeds of the flesh in us, we can be sure we are not walking in the perfect will of the Father. On the other hand, if we see the fruits of the Holy Spirit manifesting in us, we can be sure the Father is doing His works in us.
We need help to make sure that we are finding every sin or error within us. The enemy is very good at hiding things like unforgiveness or bitterness deep within our heart. Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” King David understood this when He said in Psalms 139:23-24, “Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.” Jesus also understood the need for the Divine Inspector when He told His disciples that He was going to send the Holy Spirit to dwell with them because Jesus was going back up to the Father in heaven. In John 16:7, He said, “But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me; and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.” If we ask God to examine us for any harmful ways and we ask Him to help us remove those harmful ways that we cannot remove ourselves, He will be faithful in delivering us from evil for He has the power and the glory to do His works in us.
If we do not examine ourselves and ask the Lord to search our heart for any harmful ways, we run the risk of forming cracks in our foundation. Examining ourselves to make sure that the Father’s works are in us is not the same thing as examining ourselves for errors or sin within our heart. Jesus said that if we love Him, we will obey Him and He and the Father will come and take up residency in our hearts. He said if we do not do the will of the Father but instead practice lawlessness, He will cast us out from His presence even if we build a house of gold and silver for Him to live in. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ He immediately follows that statement up with a parable about a house being built upon a rock or sand. He says in Matthew 7:24-27, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”
We are going to be facing some challenging times ahead, and those who are outside the will of the Father and practicing lawlessness will find it impossible to save their house from destruction. They will face the fire and storms of judgement instead of the purifying fire for those who have built their house upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and live their lives aligned with the Father’s will. Those who have built their house upon the rock will be saved through the fire, but if they have not examined their house to make sure that the works they have been using to build are only those of the Father’s, they will run the risk of having nothing to bring to lay at the feet of Jesus.
Sin can manifest in our bodies and souls as obvious cracks like physical illness, mental illness, or spiritual oppression. Sometimes when we suffer it can be for the glory of God to be manifested in the earth like what happened to Job in the bible. Other times, it is because of our own rebellion or sin like what the children of Israel experienced in the dessert. To find out if we should be thanking the Lord for our suffering or if we should be asking Him to forgive us for our sins and heal us, we should be examining our hearts and asking Him to search us daily for any harmful ways within us. We must be open to receive His correction in the same way we would listen to an inspector who was inspecting a house we wanted to buy. We cannot tell the Lord that we want Him to examine us if we are going to ignore His findings. Psalms 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds a house, They who build it labor in vain; Unless the LORD guards a city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” Unless we allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts, correct us, and remove all harmful and sinful ways from us, we will labor in vain, and cracks in our walls will be the least of our worries. If we want to have anything to lay at the feet of our Lord, we must be open and transparent with Him and ourselves while we are on this earth, so we might find confidence that we are aligned with His will and His works are living in us.
You can read more about this and other truths by obtaining a copy of “Prodigal to Prince” by Beau Walsh at BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.com.
