Well, how did it go? Are you all wearing your stretchy pants this morning because of all of the holiday food you enjoyed? Were you able to see a smile on a loved one’s face after they opened that special gift? Have you successfully returned everything you wouldn’t dare wear? Did you strategically maneuver that special someone under the mistletoe? Most of all, did you glorify Christ this Christmas season? Did you focus on the “Reason for the Season?” Did God reveal something new to you during the holiday?
Maybe you are eager to move on from Christmas. Maybe the lights have come down in your home, and the tree has been packed away. Maybe something about the new year, about a fresh start, has you eager for the calendar to keep turning some pages. Maybe your Christmas list for others has been replaced with a list of goals for yourself in 2025.
As you think about what is ahead, what you are facing, what you are planning for, what you are working toward, what you are praying about, I encourage you to join the Psalmist who took time to intentionally seek God. He didn’t just seek God, but He invited God to search Him, to test him, to change him. His prayer offers us a wonderful template for our prayers as we contemplate a new year.
Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
The end of every year is a good time to reflect on the previous year. Rehearse the highs and the lows. Think about the things God has brought you through. Celebrate success and achievements. Our church has seen 53 people come to faith in Christ this past year. That’s surely something to celebrate! I set a goal last January, prayerfully and with faith believing, that we could see 50 people give their hearts to Jesus. Thank God for His work among us and for the Holy Spirit’s drawing of hearts! It would be wonderful if even more people gave their lives to Christ today!
How about each one of us personally? How did we do with last year’s New Year’s Resolutions? How did we do on the pledges we made last January to share our faith, to invite people to church, to have spiritual conversations with people? I laid out a vision last January for our church to double in five years because we would win fifty people to Christ each year over the five-year period. They would in-turn bring their friends to Jesus. 270 of you made a commitment to be an active witness. How did that go?
How did it go with your work goals, your family goals, your education goals, your fitness goals? Personal evaluation is critical. Reflection and confession, an honest look, they are super important to forward progress. I haven’t wanted to do it, but I have made myself step on the scale a few times each week during the month of December. Something about seeing that number with regularity has helped to keep me from just letting all discipline go out the window. I need to be aware of where I am, and that scale helps to keep me honest. It’s really a love-hate relationship, but I digress.
The coming of a new year is a great time to step on the spiritual scale, so to speak, to evaluate where we are in a spiritual sense. David did some reflecting in Psalm 139. He took time to ask God to show him what might be causing his anxious thoughts. Anxious thoughts can steal our focus, take our energy, cause us health problems and crowd out the mind of Christ in our lives. Anxious thoughts impair our performance and keep us from sharing our gifts and talents, from realizing our potential.
The Psalmist was dealing with anxious thoughts himself when he wrote, “Test me and know my anxious thoughts.” He was saying, “I am troubled in my thought life, and I am not quite sure what the source is,” but he knew something wasn’t right. Can you identify? Is something not quite right with you? Are you disturbed in your soul? Are your thoughts ones of defeat, regret, and shame? Do you self-sabotage with the thoughts that play on repeat in your mind?
I see in Psalm 139 that anxious thoughts can be the result of a lack of trust in God and His plan for our lives and can also be the result of sin in our lives.
Both things . . . a lack of trust in God and His plan for us and sin against God will move us in a direction different from the one God has laid out for us. Paul gives us a remedy for our anxious thoughts in Philippians 4:6. He says we should pray about them. That’s exactly what the Psalmist does in Psalm 139. There is something wrong, and he can’t put his finger on it so he prays to God that God would help him have understanding so that he can correct what is wrong and be free from the anxious thoughts.
Prayer is a tool not just for offloading stress and concern, but at the same time, while we are “casting our cares on God” as I Peter 5:7 says prayer does, we are also reorienting our thoughts toward the Source of our life. That is, we are focused on God who can help us, God who can sustain us, God who can calm us, God who can reveal to us what we need to know in order to understand ourselves better and to please Him more fully and the result is peace. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” (NKJV) Prayer will help us “stay” our minds on God.
In the Psalmist’s prayer, he doesn’t just say, “God show me where I have messed up, so we can move on with this, and I can get rid of the anxious thoughts,” but the Psalmist absolutely surrenders to a search, and it is a thorough one. He says, “Search me. Know me. Test me. Look deep into my life. Leave no stone unturned.” He doesn’t just say, “Cleanse me of my sin, but lead me in a new way of thinking and living. Help me get completely on Your path. I want to walk in the way of everlasting life, and the fact that I am having these anxious thoughts is a red flag to me that perhaps I am not where I should be spiritually.”
Let’s talk about the first possible cause of anxious thoughts: A lack of trust in God.
Psalm 5:11-12 “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”
Who here wants God’s favor as a shield? Who wants to walk in confidence that God’s favor stands between you and your next assignment, your next test, your next relationship challenge, your next human crisis? Listen, God goes before you. He is already in the middle of tomorrow. He has a plan to work things out that you haven’t even come up against yet. He is ahead of you to clear your path. Worship Him! Shout for joy. God is working on your behalf to protect you and to guide you to the places and people He has purposed for your life. You are going to make it. If you are behind the shield of God’s favor, you will never miss one thing God has for you!
If you are having a hard time rejoicing, if you aren’t living life with peace and confidence perhaps you have a trust issue with God. If your anxious thoughts are keeping you from moving forward perhaps you aren’t relying on the Lord’s favor to be your shield. Allow me to outline what trusting God completely looks like:
Trusting God completely means letting go of the process, accepting the pace with which He moves in your life AND proclaiming the victory as you walk with Him.
Because God’s favor is like a shield, He is in front of you warding off any evil attack and with His shield He is blazing a trail for you which will enable you to move through life’s circumstances. Look at Exodus 23:20-“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
God goes ahead of us to prepare the way for us and promises to escort and guard us along the way so that we reach the destination He has chosen. Look at your neighbor and say, “If you go with God, you WILL arrive at your destination.”
Exodus 23:21ff-21Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. 22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.
Vs 27 27 “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. 28 I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.
Did you see that? “Little by little. . .” God has a reason for not just opening His hand and making life as easy as possible for us. We couldn’t handle it if He did. Even the Israelite enemies were going to serve God’s purpose. God had a reason for decreasing them slowly. Had they all been removed it would have been to the Israelites’ detriment. No, God allowed some of the enemies to remain for a while as they were helping to keep the soil worked and in good condition and also were helping to keep the wild animal population subdued. It was little by little. The Israelites didn’t overtake their enemies in a hurry, but they did overtake them.
If the process you are going through seems long, God has a good reason for the pace He has set for you, but you will, if you trust Him, you will possess the Promised Land. Tell your neighbor, “Let go of the process, and trust the pace!”
Verse 31 goes on to say, “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you.
Some of you need to accept that what you are praying for, what you are walking toward, what you are seeking from God may take some time, but He will establish you. Even if it looks like you are having to put up with enemies or resistance, He is working things out. Take your hands off of the borders and let God be in control!
The promise of God to you if you walk with Him and obey Him is that you will always be victorious! 1 Corinthians 15:57–But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NKJV)
If you are trusting God to lead you, He will always lead you to triumph. He will never lead you to failure. Expecting victory, proclaiming victory, maintaining that you are victorious, that will keep you from allowing anxious thoughts to occupy your mind and paralyze your life. Decide in 2025 that you are going to trust God for every outcome!
You may not enjoy some of the teachable moments you will go through. You may have to endure some processes you’d rather skip. You may have to exercise patience when the pace is slower than you would like it to be, but you can always proclaim and expect victory if you obediently stay behind the shield of God’s favor! Stand on Romans 8:28-“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Just write the word “victory” or “score” over every outcome in your life because God will cause you to triumph. That is His promise to you. Just rehearse His Word over and over. Proclaim His promises. Thank God for His victory in advance because it is on its way. Tell your neighbor, “Neighbor, let go of the process, trust the pace, and proclaim the victory.”
Let me restate this point: Trusting God completely means letting go of the process, accepting the pace with which He moves in your life AND proclaiming the victory as you walk with Him.
Trusting God completely is an antidote for anxious thoughts. The Psalmist said, “God I’m anxious. I need you to show me why.” I’m here to tell you that a lack of trust in God is one reason anxious thoughts develop and become a stronghold in our lives.
A second possible cause of anxious thoughts is unconfessed sin. The Psalmist wanted to know if he had offended God in any way. When was the last time you asked God that question? How many of us could say with 100% confidence, “I’m exactly where I should be in my relationship with God?” If we aren’t where we know we should be, are we willing to open ourselves up to some examination? Are we willing for God to reveal where we went wrong? Are we interested in allowing Him to bring correction to our lives? I’m gonna be straight with you…sin causes anxiety.
Anxious thoughts can result from guilt and regret over things we have said and done. My grandmother dealt with mental instability in the later years of her life. She eventually took her own life. I remember sitting with her a year before that tragedy, and she said to me, “You don’t know the things I have done.” She didn’t confess what she had done, but that she had done things through the years behind people’s backs including her siblings that she deeply regretted and felt terrible guilt over. I am convinced that the guilt and grief over her sin contributed to her mental demise.
Sin is serious. I think we downplay how serious it is for a believer to walk in sin. I think we minimize the impact and consequences of sin, but when we choose sin, we give Satan access into our lives which means we give him material to use against us. We give him access into our thoughts. Sin sets us up for anxiety as Satan loves to taunt us with the ways we have disappointed God. Sin is serious.
When sin reigns in our hearts we cut ourselves off from God’s help. (Psalm 66:18) David wanted God’s ongoing help. He knew he needed the Lord, and so he prayed, “Search me! Look for the dirt. Show me the ways I have hurt and offended Your holiness, God. Lay it all out on the table. Open me up, God.”
The condition of our hearts is critical when it comes to our spiritual life. That’s why Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Jeremiah 17:9 tells us our hearts are so dark and so wicked that apart from God revealing to us what is in them there is no way we can know what is truly in our hearts. How long has it been since you’ve asked God to search your heart? Do you desire God more than anything and anyone? Are you serious about pursuing Him, worshiping Him, knowing Him, and obeying Him? Is there apathy in your heart towards God? Is your heart full of faith and trust? Or has doubt about God and His plan for your life crept in? Did you know that unbelief is sin, Hebrews 3:12-13?
David went on to say, “Search my thought life, God.” Do your thoughts glorify God? Or are your thoughts consumed with yourself or something you are longing to possess? Are you thinking about things that are true and noble and right? The things that are lovely, excellent, praiseworthy and admirable? (Philippians 4) Are your thoughts godly? Or are you thinking evil or envious thoughts? Are you thinking lustful thoughts? Are you bitter and angry in your thoughts toward other people? Do you think judgmental thoughts about other people? You can do all the right things outwardly, but be riddled with anxiety from sinful patterns in your life.
David didn’t stop with his heart or his thoughts, he said, “Search my actions, too. See if there is any offensive way in me.” He wanted to be spotless before God. Have you shown the love of God to others this past year? What opportunities have you taken in 2024 to glorify God through your actions? The things you have said, have they edified other people and built them up or have your words been harsh, negative, angry, and complaining? Have you gossiped and spread rumors whether with your tongue or on your social media? Have you always told the truth?
Has the way you have spent your time this past year proven you are one of Jesus’ disciples? Have you owned your mistakes and asked people you have hurt for forgiveness? Have you glorified God in your body, or have you abused your body with drugs and alcohol or engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct? You know the Bible says that for Christians there can’t even be a “hint of sexual immorality.” (Ephesians 5:3) Have you glorified God in the way you have spent your time and money? The things you watch, the places you go. . . is God pleased with them all?
It is tough to look at ourselves honestly. It isn’t pleasant to think about the ways we have fallen short, but there is good news. We can absolutely walk into 2025 with a clean slate. I John I:9 says if we will confess our sins that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Examination and confession can lead to cleansing if we will agree with God about our sin.
There is great integrity in the Psalmist’s prayer. He didn’t want anything to be sugar coated. He didn’t want God to hold anything back. Perhaps the greatest hypocrisy is the self-delusion that we are alright. True Christians aren’t people who never sin, but they are those who willingly confess it, repent, and make the changes necessary to live differently. True confession involves a desire and a commitment to quit sinning.
The truth is, God already knows what is in your heart. He knows what has occupied your thoughts. Look at the beginning of Psalm 139. Psalm 139:1-4 1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
God knows when we make excuses. He knows when we compromise. He knows when we move ahead without consulting Him. He knows when we cut corners. He knows when we aren’t where we are supposed to be. He knows when we are relying our ourselves, our connections, our resources. He knows it all. There is nothing we have said or done that has escaped the knowledge of God. He is OMNISCIENT. I think David quickly came to the place where he could ask God to test and try him and reveal his sin because He knew there was no use pretending to be something other than sinful in the presence of an all-knowing God. We can’t fool God, but anxiety is ignited when we try.
The comforting thing about God being the One who knows everything about us is that He is kind, patient, loving, nurturing, and He is gentle. He genuinely cares about each one of us. Each one of us is His favorite! He is interested in each of our lives and loves us with a tender and everlasting love.
In Haggai 1 we read twice, “Give careful thought to your ways.” Before you look ahead to 2025, take some time to look within. How many of you have had a physical this past year? Let me see your hands. Well, this morning, I’m encouraging you to have a “spiritual.” What is a spiritual? It is an on-purpose, soul searching time where we ask God to show us where we have fallen short in our trust of Him or where our lives have been clogged with the debris of sin. Unlike a physical where once the news is given it might take weeks for surgery to get schedule or medicine might take weeks to work and eliminate the problem our time with God this morning can produce instant results. So, the invitation this morning is for you to obtain a “spiritual.” It’s your chance to say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Don’t move into the New Year without letting God move in you and remove from you that which is causing anxiety in your life. Don’t take this year’s baggage into 2025. Be rid of anxious thoughts as you consent to God’s search and surrender fully to Him.
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