Jeremiah 17:10—I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.
The military has a formal practice known as “Inspection in Ranks” where a commander examines each soldier standing at attention in formation. I never enjoyed these reviews if I was the inspectee. The long period of sustaining a rigid posture only made my back and thighs ache. Yet, I did learn some interesting lessons. Formal inspections serve a necessary purpose but they do not always give a commander an accurate assessment of a soldier. A warrior may look good in uniform but be incompetent in battle.
The test of genuineness is often gauged by what goes unseen. We may smile and give the impression that all is well while our mind is full of anger and our spirit is critical. We may say nice things but think mean thoughts. The Bible states that “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God” (Romans 8:5-8).
Did you know that we inspected daily by our Heavenly Father without our ever having to line up on cement slabs in our best clothing? The One Who knows how many hairs we have on our head, also knows our thoughts. In truth, there are many times when I wish this were not so. It’s pretty embarrassing to have God scrutinizing my mind when my focus is selfish. This is why I find King David to be such a remarkable man. He had the guts to say “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for Your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in Your truth”--Psalm 26:2.
Inspiration
