Psalm 139: 1 – 12 NLT
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
Isn’t that a love letter from God to you? God knows you intimately. He knows absolutely everything about you. “You have examined my heart and know everything about me.” Just read those first 6 verses again and soak them in.
God knows where you are whether you are resting or standing up. He knows when you are on the road and when you are at home. He knows your thoughts – even what you are going to say before you actually say it. Isn’t that incredible? In some ways, you may find it rather frightening that someone knows you that well. We know we’re not perfect and have a tendency to make mistakes, so maybe we’d rather God didn’t know about it. Yet David also says,
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Even with His knowledge of that flawed you, God wants to bless you.
In the next verses, David talks about God knowing you in more difficult moments. In the first verses he talks about God’s presence in everyday situations. But now, David talks about those moments when we are excited beyond belief – “If I ride the wings of the morning”, you are there. God is aware when we are facing painful moments – “If I dwell by the farthest oceans” or “If I go down to the grave’. What will God do for me in those challenging moments?
“even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me” (v. 10)
Spend some time today thinking about how God knows you completely, and loves you totally.
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!”
But, give it a try. As we try to comprehend how much God loves and accepts us, it makes life so much worthwhile.
Our song for today is He Knows by Jeremy Camp.