Psalm 141:1-10

Evil is all around us and unfortunately is also within us.  The evil that surrounds us is much easier for us to identify than that which resides within our hearts.  God is over all of these situations and knows exactly how to handle both our hearts and the wickedness that surrounds His children.  It is our place to ask for Him to do just that.  Our prayers should be a constant calling on God to be at work in our hearts as well as in the world around us.  Sin as an offense against God and should be a major concern in our lives if we desire to seek and follow Him.

GOD IS FAITHFUL TO REVEAL OUR HEARTS: Our own sinfulness is the greatest danger that any of us face in life.  Fortunately, God is committed to remove all sinfulness from His children.  That is what He has promised to do through redemption and He is faithfully bringing His plan of restoration and redemption to its predetermined purpose.  God has determined to make all those who trust Him into the likeness of Jesus.  In order for that to happen there must be a radical change in our hearts.  If we desire to please God and live for Him, we must faithfully cry out for God to reveal our sinfulness to us.  We must call out for Him to show us the things in our hearts that must be brought into conformity to His image.  God uses His Spirit to reveal these things to us; but He also uses other people.  That is why the rebukes and instructions of other believers in Christ should always be welcomed and headed.  They are instruments in the hands of the Lord that He desires to use for our growth.  We should be ever grateful to the Lord and to other friends who are faithful to reveal the sinfulness of our hearts to us.


GOD IS FAITHFUL TO RELIEVE OUR HURTS: There are other evil men who surround us that would desire to trap us and bring us down.  A friend will rebuke us in order to build us up into the likeness of Christ.  An enemy will attack us for the purpose of discouraging or destroying us.  These wicked men have no desire to help us; they only always want to hurt us.  When we recognize that this is happening to us, we are not without help.  God stands by ready to judge the evil of men as well as to heal and relieve His children from the hurts that are inflicted upon His children.  These wicked men set traps, but God is able to judge them and they often end up falling in their own traps.  We can rest assured that God knows just how to judge the evil hearts of men as well as relieve His children from the hurt that evil men bring upon His children.  This is why we should rest in God’s hands and worship at His feet.

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