For the week of: Monday, February 26th 2007

"Any Leaks?"

I have only boarded a submarine once.  However, one quick tour was enough to convince me I had chosen wisely in avoiding the military – especially a branch of the military that would involve residence on a claustrophobic underwater vessel.  Goodness, those things are cozy! 

Half the battle of surviving life in such an environment would surely be the lack of personal space.  But let’s face it; the real belly-flopper would be the realization that this “home” is constantly under the pressure of millions of pounds of water pressure.  What if the thing springs a leak?  A bucket won’t help.  A wet-vac would be useless.  The phrase “shark bait” comes to mind.

I was interested to hear the term the navy uses when referring to the procedure used to check the security of the seals on submarine openings.  It is termed, “checking the integrity of the boat”.  I find that telling.

The integrity checks are vital to the survival of those on board.  One undetected compromise in the integrity of one seal offers entrance to the enemy…water.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me…..”   Psalm 139:23

I am learning to conduct integrity checks on my heart.  I am an active believer in the wiles of satan.  I’ve seen his work, I’ve ignored my share of chinks out of the life-saving seals of my own heart and I’ve swallowed enough sea water to know better than to ignore the leaks. 

More importantly, I make no assumptions about my own goodness.  I come face to face with this truth…there is nothing, no-thing, not any-thing that I am impervious to when it comes to sin.  I am capable of doing it all. 

So I ask God to search, test and reveal. 

Dear one, the enemy spends 24/7 prowling the portals of your heart.  He is intent (hell-bent, may I say) on discovering the areas left unprotected, unguarded, unchecked.  And oh how he rubs his slimy palms together when he hears us proudly boast, “Well, I would never ….”.  I cringe when I hear God’s children say what they will never do.  They usually do and are as flabbergasted by their sudden sink to the floor of the sea as those watching in horror.

I am relieved then when I read the Psalmist’s plea.  I am comforted by the knowledge that if I approach the throne of God and ask Him to reveal any lack of integrity in me, He will.  Perhaps it will be through the warning of a friend, the wisdom of a sermon or book, the painful experience of another.

Friend, not all of life’s lessons have to be learned on a battlefield.  Ask God to search, test and reveal. 

“O Lord. You have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise, You perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down, You are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is in my tongue, You know it completely, O Lord.  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.” (Psalm 139: 1-4, 23-24) 

Praying for the integrity of your heart and mine,

Kay

Comment Here