Surrounding an ancient cathedral near my home, there is a stone walkway. In between the stones should be sand. However, over time, the sand has blown and sifted away, leaving behind only dirt, moss, and weeds.
The caretaker of the cathedral used the idle hours of Covid lockdown, along with a long metal instrument, to clean out decades of muck. The job took weeks.
“See if there be any grievous way in me…” is a line from one of David’s prayers (Psalm 139:24). As I watched the metal awl dig between those stones, I thought about deeper things inside of me that take work to root out. There are hurts of the past not completely worked through when life moved on.
Have I fully forgiven those who hurt me?
Is there a grime of bitterness still stuck inside me?
Can I dig out and surrender to God those things that I still want to say in my defense, trusting one day He will wipe away all tears?
Taking the time to work through the residual dirt in my heart left from life’s turmoil, my poor choices, and the brokenness of my personality is painful. What portions of pride must I hand over to my Heavenly Father in order to extend the forgiveness that He has lavishly given to me?
“See if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:24)!
The reward of being led in the way everlasting is worth the time that introspection, conviction, and confession take. What step can you take today in allowing God to dig out any grievous way inside of you?
