“The Word of God … is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12
On their way from Egypt to the land promised to Abraham and his descendants Israel neglected the Word of God. They heard it but left it out of their lives. As a consequence of not believing God’s Word they did not act upon it or obey it. The further consequence was that they never experienced the rest that God had for them in the land of promise; they never even entered that land and therefore did not know what they missed.
It isn’t unusual to hear comments that produce fear when people speak of governments becoming “big brother.” We don’t like someone else peering into our lives especially when it is someone who has authority over us.
As we read the passage above, and its context, we may be inclined to think that God is up there somewhere with a big stick looking forward to an opportunity to use it. However this is opposite to reality as the context of this verse shows.
The intent of God’s Word is to show us where we have attitudes and behaviour contrary to or out of kilter to His own. Such attitudes and behaviour prevent intimate fellowship because God is holy. “God is light and in Him is no darkness” (1 John 1:5). The Divine Nature is such that God can have no fellowship with any nature that is not exactly as His own. This is why we are helpless in ourselves to enter into fellowship with God.
For each of us the “eyes” of Scripture searching our thoughts and inner-most being is painful but there are two possible outcomes. Either we will close the “eyes” of Scripture by closing our Bible or we will embrace the truth and reality it reveals however horrid and wicked it may reveal us to be. God’s intent is that we see what He already knows us to be so that we will agree with Him that this is what we are. He will then forgive and cleanse us from our sin through the blood of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9).
The writer of Hebrews writes, “Let us therefore come boldly (with confidence) to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” He means that when the Word of God reveals the evil thoughts and intents of our heart we may come, by God’s grace, to the throne of grace and obtain mercy and find grace even though we are what the Bible has revealed us to be.
When the Bible reveals sin in our heart it is not time to close our Bible, it is time to pour out our heart to God, agreeing with Him, and accepting His forgiveness and cleansing. We can do so with confidence because Jesus Christ died for our sin.