During 2025, Peachtree Church is focusing on the Book of Psalms with a series called Dwell, through which we seek to deepen our conversation with God and open ourselves to hearing his response. The practice of praying three times each day will unite the voices of our hearts and souls as we seek the day when we will see the full realization of the Kingdom of God, promised in Revelation 21:3: “…Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
We will email devotionals twice weekly with Monday’s providing an overview of the Psalm as a whole, and Wednesday’s focused on that week’s Daily Dwell.
Search me, God, and know my heart;
Psalm 139:23-24
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Devotional
On Monday, we were reminded that Scripture sees us as individual, majestic creations. The psalmist declares God’s majesty in the skies—and equally, his majesty in the creation of you. Sometimes, that’s hard to believe, isn’t it?
If you’re a parent, you know what it’s like to love someone beyond words. Parents will go to great lengths to know and love their children. That perspective makes this passage—even this bold prayer of the psalmist—all the more profound.
Here we find a child asking their Creator to search them. To know them. To be close. This is a vulnerable request, not of fear, but of belonging. It’s a sacred invitation for God to know our hearts and to refine who we are within his kingdom.
The word test in this week’s Daily Dwell isn’t about being left alone to thrive or fail. It’s not about performance. Instead, it’s about transformation. To be tested by God is to be made new—set apart from the patterns of the world as we become more like him.
This kind of invitation—to be searched and known—is deeply courageous. It’s not a casual ask. It’s the posture of someone willing to be seen fully: the holy and the hurting parts, the confident and the anxious thoughts, the pure intentions and the hidden motives.
It’s easy to come before God with the polished pieces of our lives—the parts we don’t mind being seen. That’s often how we show up in our communities, and even in our churches. But this psalm invites us to bring everything—especially our anxious thoughts and lingering doubts.
And here’s the good news: God is not surprised by your worry. He is not distant from your fear. In fact, he draws closer when we open the door to the inner rooms of our hearts and say, “Come in. Search here, too.”
Then comes the line:
“See if there is any offensive way in me.”
This is not a cry for punishment—it’s a plea for clarity. The psalmist is essentially saying, “Show me what I cannot see. Remove what doesn’t belong. Point out what hinders love, distorts truth, or keeps me from you.”
This is not about shame; it’s about surrender.
The final request brings it all into focus:
“Lead me in the way everlasting.”
Not just a better way. Not just a safer one. The everlasting way. The way that leads to life with God—now and forever.
That kind of way requires daily trust. A willingness to be led. And the deep assurance that the One who searches us completely is also the One who loves us unconditionally.
For Reflection
- Are you vulnerable enough with your Creator to invite him in to refine you?
- What parts of your life to you strive to keep hidden from God and those around you? How can you surrender those this week?
Prayer
Gracious God, you see me fully and love me still. Search my heart, reveal what needs healing, and quiet the anxious thoughts that stir within me. Refine me, lead me, shape me—not into who the world expects, but into who you created me to be. Guide me in your everlasting way, step by step, with courage and grace. Amen.
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Devotionals