“But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examine our hearts.”
1 Thessalonians 2:4

What comes to mind when you hear the word “examine“?

For me, it took me straight to my 9th grade lab classroom in high school, to the time when there was a poor frog stretched out in my lab tray just waiting for me to discover every gross part of it. Please hear me on this…..every. gross. part. Not only did I have to slice that poor frog open, I had to examine each internal part. And, if the internal part could been sliced open and explored, I had to do that too. My the time I left that class I know much more about a frog’s inners than I ever wanted to!

And that’s what God does to my heart.

He examines all of it.

Every last part.

That got me to thinking if He is pleased with what He finds.

You know the commandment that says “You shall have no other gods before me”? In my mind I totally put a large check mark beside that one.

check mark

No other gods? Got it! I’m good there! There is no golden calf found under my roof, and even if there was, I wouldn’t worship it, or treat it like a god!

I’ll never forget the day that I learned I had totally missed the mark on that one.

As in, if I put my most favorite person on the planet (otherwise known as my husband) before God, then I have violated this commandment.

My family? Yep, they count also.

My work? You got it—it counts too.

Anything that I put BEFORE God becomes a god to me.

It could be a career. It could be a hobby. It could be something as simple as social media.

Bottom line, when God examines my heart, will He find that I’ve put Him first?
First in my day?
First in my life?
First in my decision-making process?
First in my thoughts?

Did I spend time with my FACE in His BOOK, the Bible, or did I only spend time on FACEBOOK?

These are very valid questions for myself as a disciple of Jesus.

The verse mentioned above is in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. He is recounting for them his reasonings for having spent time with them sharing the Gospel of Jesus….it was because he was totally committed to pleasing God. It had nothing to do with pleasing men, or to fulfill his own desires. And bottom line here, since God is the One who examines his heart, it is God alone who he is going to focus on pleasing.

What I great reminder.

One that I needed.

Dear Holy Father, it is You alone who examines my heart. Lord, since You examine my heart, You also know the desires of my heart. It is my desire to please You in everything I do. I know that because of my sinful nature, I do not meet this mark. Thank you for loving me, forgiving me, and drawing me closer to You each day, even with my shortfalls. Thank you, Father, that You see me through the blood-covering of Jesus, who has atoned for my sins. Oh Lord, do not let me take that fact for granted. Lead me to the cross day, after day, after day. Keep my focus on you, even when life gets so “loud”. For it is in You, where I find my refuge. In You, is where I find my strength. In You, I am forgiven. In You, I am Your child, and I am so very grateful to be a daughter of The King of Kings. I love You with all my heart, the heart that You examine. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.