Be honest with yourself and God
Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. – Psalms 26:2
While we live in this world, we have choices about how we are going to live and who we are going to live for. Initially, it might look like there are many options, but it ultimately boil down to three main paths: living for self, living to please others, or living for God on His purpose. However, each path leads to extremely different outcomes in our lives.
Living for Self: A Path of Striving and Conflict
If you live and act with the mindset that you are the center of your universe, focusing solely on taking care of “number one”—yourself, then your primary concern will be getting what you feel entitled to. The result will be continually trying to maneuver circumstances and manipulating people to serve your agenda. These actions will lead to a life of constant battle. That path may bring temporary successes, but it will inevitably lead to exhaustion, strained relationships, and deep disappointment.
- Striving and Conflict: Living for self is exhausting because it demands that you constantly fight to get ahead, often at the expense of others. It breeds conflict because, in your pursuit of personal gain, you are trying to manipulate and pressure those around you, damaging your relationships and isolating yourself.
- Disappointment: Even when you achieve your goals, the satisfaction is fleeting. The feelings of emptiness that follow will be a reminder that living only for yourself is not the path to true joy and fulfillment.
Living for Others: A Life of Fear and Disappointment
If you live your life in a way that focuses on pleasing others. While being kind, helpful, and encouraging are positive traits, living to meet the expectations of others can lead to a life dominated by fear and anxiety.
- Fear of Failure: When your motivation is to avoid disappointing others, you will find yourself paralyzed by the fear of not measuring up. This fear can lead to burnout as you try to be everything to everyone, forgetting that it is impossible to please everyone all the time.
- Disappointment: Inevitably, despite your best efforts, you will fall short of someone’s expectations, leading to feelings of failure and discouragement. You will also experience strained relationships when you can’t meet the impossible demands you’ve placed on yourself.
Living for God: A Life of Purpose and Peace
The way we were designed to live our life is with purpose, guided by our Heavenly Father. When you choose to follow His plan and direction, you find a life that is not only fulfilling but also free from the burdens of self-centered striving or the fear of disappointing others.
- Guidance and Direction: Living for God means trusting Him to lead you. Psalm 26:2 is a prayer asking God to examine your heart and mind, to refine your motives, and to guide you on the right path. When you live with this heart posture, you’re not living for yourself or others—you’re living for a higher purpose.
- Divine Appointments: God will lead you to those He has placed in your life to help and serve. Unlike the self-focused life, where you seek to control everything, or the people-pleasing life, where you fear failure, living for God brings peace because you trust Him to guide your steps. He will bring the right opportunities and the right people into your life at the just the right time.
- Provision and Support: As you live for God, you can trust Him to provide everything you need. He will equip you with the resources, wisdom, and strength to fulfill His purpose for your life. He will also bring people into your life to support and encourage you along the way. Living life on His agenda and His plan will bring you not only His greatest blessings in this world, but also a life full of joy and contentment.
David’s prayer in Psalm 26 is a powerful reminder that being open and honest with yourself, and God is essential if you are going to successfully follow His plan. It means that you must allow Him to examine your heart and show you where you are on track and where you may have gotten off course. You cannot go to God and just tell Him what you are doing and what is going on in the world around you. When you do that, you are not allowing Him the space to correct your course and many times, you are justifying why you are right and everyone else is wrong and to blame for your lack of progress. While your complaints might be true, that kind of “praying” will not put you in a position to accomplish what you are here to do for the kingdom of heaven.
I can tell you an example of this in a ministry that I recently got involved in. As I followed God’s direction into a position there, it would be easy for me to either sit back and wonder why things are not falling into place because everyone else is doing their own thing. On the other hand I could have easily fallen into the trap of pulling on people to get involved because I need help to get this mission accomplished.
Instead of getting sucked into those mindsets, I began prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit for direction on how to lead the group and also that He would bring in the people and resources together that are needed to be successful in this mission. It has been such a joy to watch as He provides and supplies everything we need to reach those He has called us to. I am not saying that there are never some opportunities to feel stress, but as I take those occasions to Him, He faithfully shows up and leads the way through to brings results in the lives we are touching that only He can accomplish!
Living life on God’s path and according to His plan ensures that our motives are pure, our actions are honest, and our hearts are devoted to God’s purposes. When we live this way, we don’t have to manipulate others or strive for selfish gain. Instead, we trust that God sees our hearts and will guide us on the right path.
David’s prayer is also a declaration of his trust in God. He is confident that God will vindicate him because he has walked uprightly and trusted in the Lord without wavering (Psalm 26:1). This trust is not based on David’s perfection, but on his relationship with God, his desire to live according to God’s ways, and his commitment to righteousness.
God has a unique purpose for each of our lives. When you allow Him to examine your heart and mind, He reveals the areas that need to be refined so that you can better get into agreement with His purpose. Getting on His planned path for your life brings clarity and direction, helping to make decisions that honor Him and fulfill the calling He has placed on your life. In living for God, you are not just avoiding the pitfalls of self-centered living or the traps of people-pleasing; you are stepping into the fullness of what God has designed for you. You are embracing a life of purpose, where every decision and action is guided by His wisdom and love.
Today I want to encourage you to allow God to examine your heart and mind, refine your motives, and guide you in living a life that honors Him. As you do, you will experience the peace, fulfillment, and joy that comes from living with integrity and purpose in God’s presence. Remember that living for God is not about being perfect but about having a heart that is open to His examination and guidance. When you ask God to “examine me, O Lord,” you’re inviting Him to purify your motives and line up your life with His word and His direction. This leads to a life of purpose, joy, and peace—far different from the exhausting paths of living for self or others.
Today’s scripture reading: Psalms 26
1 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.
3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.
4 I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, nor will I go in with hypocrites.
5 I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works.
8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells.
9 Do not gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 In whose hands is a sinister scheme, and whose right hand is full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the Lord.
The Daily Dose 