A disgruntled client once told me that he didn’t see a need for a Christian to go to counseling. He went on to add, “Self reflection and self awareness is a waste of time. Our lives would straighten out if we would just do what the Bible tells us to do.”

There is no doubt our lives would improve by his prescription, but sometimes doing what the Bible says is not that simple. There are reasons found deep within us as to why we stray from the biblical path. Even the Bible itself calls us to take a look inside ourselves to identify such reasons.

For instance, David didn’t seem to think an inward look was a waste of time when he wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You” (Psalm 139:23-24).

Even Jesus told others to take a hard look at their inner world. To the religious leaders who acted as if they had it all together, He once said, “Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self indulgence! You blind Pharisees! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too” (Matthew 23:25-26).

Sometimes an inner look reveals pride and a lack of humility at work inside of us. Sometimes we find that we’ve been buying into some ugly, lifelong lies and have become deceived by the deceiver.

Whether it’s in counseling or during your personal prayer time, an inside look is necessary. Sometimes we’ll find some brokenness and ‘junk’ we won’t be able to handle alone, but it is precisely that awareness that can humbly drive us back to the One who can help us.

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 4:16-30