Send Out the Search Party

Read: Psalm 139:23-24; Jeremiah 17:10 “Why is there an old apple core inside a crinkled chip bag under your pillow?” Dad asked when Camila came into the kitchen. Camila smirked. “The real question is why were you looking under my pillow?” “I was just following my nose,” said Dad. “Your room is a mess! You need to clean it before going to Mackenzie’s house.” Camila stomped upstairs, mumbling something about how unfair life was. Dad had just finished his second cup of coffee and morning Bible reading when Camila scooted into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “I’m guessing you’re taking a snack break,” he said. Camila crunched into an apple. “Nope. I’m finished.” “How could you have cleaned your room in thirty minutes? I couldn’t have cleaned it that fast with a bulldozer.” “Take a look if you don’t believe me.” Camila followed her dad upstairs. He was amazed. There was no clutter to be found. Dad got down on his hands and knees. “What are you doing?” Camila asked. This didn’t look good. “When I was a kid, my favorite cleaning method was to shove all the junk under my bed so everything looked clean. I didn’t think my dad was smart enough to look there.” Dad peeked under the bed. “And it looks like you didn’t think your dad was smart enough either. I guess you have a full day of cleaning ahead of you.” “I thought it’d be easier to just hide everything by shoving it under the bed,” said Camila. “I didn’t know you were going to send out a search party!” Dad sat on the edge of her bed. “Believe it or not, a lot of people think they can do the same thing with their sin—they try to hide it to make their lives look perfect. They may think they’re fooling everyone, but they’re not fooling God. In the Bible, David asks God to search his heart. He wanted God to find the sin in his life so he could confess it and be forgiven.” “Well, God is our Father, and fathers are really good at finding stuff!” Camila said. “I guess I need to tell Jesus—and you—I’m sorry.” “I forgive you,” Dad said. “And Jesus promises to always forgive us too.” –Jared Hottenstein How about you? Do you try to hide your sin and keep others from seeing the messes in your life? Even if you’re able to hide the wrong things you do from others, you can’t hide them from God. The Bible calls the wrong things we do sin, and the best way to handle sin isn’t to try to hide it from God, but to show it to Him. The Bible says that if we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful to His promise to always forgive us. Today's Key Verse: Search me, God, and know my heart…See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV) Today's Key Thought: Let God search for sin