Metal Detectors and Searches

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:1-10 ESV). It has been a while since I boarded a plane for an international destination. However, last year when I flew to the Ukraine for a ministry opportunity, I went through several “searches.” I am very glad about the increased security in our day. It gives me a feeling of safety. However, there are those times when I face a search and wonder if I will “pass.” I remember the drill well. I took all the keys and metal objects that I thought might set the machine off and passed them around through the security guard and still did not pass the first time through! I had forgotten to take my pen out of my pocket! What a relief when I stepped back through and passed! What comes to mind when you think of being searched? When the police search someone, it usually involves checking to see if they have something in their possession that they should not, like Illegal drugs, concealed weapons, or some incriminating evidence. When a doctor searches someone, they might use a scanner or a stethoscope or even a small camera to go inside of us and look around. Is there a disease or a tumor or an extra organ that needs to be removed! Our reading today talks about the search of God into our hearts. When God searches, he is not looking for external characteristics, or hidden contraband, or even internal body parts. God searches the soul and the heart and what He finds tells Him everything there is to know about us. He searches us; He knows us. Like a mother knows the cry of her child above all others. Like a couple knows the meaning in each other's eyes. Like a child knows his father's voice. There is nothing quite as frustrating as being misunderstood. Sometime we lack the ability to explain ourselves. Sometime others lack the ability to understand what we are going through. But God searches, He knows, He understands. To some it may be scary to be known so completely, to be understood so perfectly. But it is also reassuring to know that there is always One to whom you can go and never be misunderstood, never be rejected, never be left out because you just don't fit in. On this fourth day of Lent, rejoice in the knowledge that God searches you, and knows you, and loves you and desires to guide you in your life.