LISTEN ONLINEJohn Wesley (1703–1791) led a highly disciplined life. He created 22 questions for self-examination, which he and his friends in Oxford used daily, for instance: “Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?” These questions formed their ‘method’ of being accountable spiritually, which eventually birthed the Methodist movement.
Although Wesley’s exacting questions are no longer used widely on a daily basis, his approach to self-examination, combined with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, can help us to understand ourselves and God better.
King David, who wrote so many of the Psalms, was also someone who sought to know himself and God better. In the well-loved Psalm 139, for example, he shares how God searches and knows him (Psalm 139:1). He understands that, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar” (v. 2). David acknowledges the wonderful mystery of God knowing him so completely: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (v. 6 ). He finds deep contentment in this understanding.
We can entrust ourselves to God’s loving care because we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (v. 14). We know that God has knitted us together in our mother’s womb (v. 13). Therefore we can ask Him to reveal to us our blind-spots and our failings, knowing that He will answer us both graciously and lovingly.