Friday, February 20, 2009

Reflections on Psalm 139 (God knows all about me)

Here are some reflections on Psalm 139. As you start meditating on Psalm 139 you begin to realize that verses 1-18 tell us about who God is. These verses are divided into three sections of six verses each that correspond to three classical attributes of God, His Omniscient Knowledge of us, His Omnipresent Hope and His Omnipotent Love. As we read the first six verses, let's see how David recognized how God intimately knew him, and as you read think about how intimately God knows you and consider what that might mean for your life.

GOD KNOWS ALL ABOUT ME
You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain. (Psalm 139:1-6)
Look at how these first six verses demonstrate how God knows us intimately, God knows us inside out, through and through. Everything I do, every thought that goes through my mind, every step I take, every plan I make, every word I speak, He knows them before they ever happen. God knows what is behind me and before me. How does that make you feel, the fact that God knows every aspect of your life?
Well, the fact that God knows everything about me and about you can either be a very comforting thought, or a very disturbing thought or both at the same time.
I’m reminded of a story where these children are all lined up in the cafeteria of a religious school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The teacher made a note: “Take only one, God is watching.” At the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A boy wrote a note: “Take all you want, God is watching the apples.”
Think about it, God knows all of my faults and my failures, but he also knows all of my feelings and frustrations as well as my future and my faithfulness. So because God knows us so intimately, we can talk to him about anything. Jesus says that the very hairs on your head are numbered, so there is nothing too small and nothing too large that you can’t talk to God about. Are you worried about something? God knows what you are worried about and why you are worried about it. So give him your worries.
Do you stay up at night thinking about your faults and your failures? God does know all of them, but if you come to him and ask Him to forgive you and help you walk with Him, He is quick to forgive. You don’t need to carry your guilt with you. Guilt just weighs you down, it sinks deep into your being and even effects your health, which is why James tells us that if we want to find healing, that we also need to confess our sins to one another, for it is a sure way to get relief from guilt.
Are you feeling frustrated and you feel that nobody knows what you are going through? Listen, God knows. He is aware of every tear you have shed, every heartache that you feel. Ps. 56:6 says, “You know how troubled I am, you have kept a record of my tears.” Listen; there is no hurt that goes unnoticed by God. He sees it all. Often when we are hurting, we feel very isolated, we feel very lonely. Maybe you have gone through a death in the family, maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend just broke up with you, or maybe you have had a difficult time finding a mate. Maybe you are having an incredibly difficult time at work, or you are facing tremendous financial difficulties, maybe you have an incurable sickness and when we do we feel all alone and we think NOBODY UNDERSTANDS THE WAY I FEEL, NOBODY CAN TELL HOW I FEEL, NOBODY FEELS THE PAIN. But God knows. And he understands my hurts, my feelings and frustrations

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Right on, Pastor! This was a great blog posted. Right on target! Really can't say much more....Keep listening to God....Much help...

Anonymous said...

If He understands, why doesn't He do something about it?