O Lord, You have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
~ Psalm 139:1-4
God knows when I sit or lie down. He knows when I rise in the morning. He knows my every thought. I imagine he understands my thoughts more than I do. I confuse myself frequently. Lol. He has set forth a plan and path for me and knows me altogether. He knows me better than I know myself.
Why? Why would He be interested in me? Of the almost 8 billion people in this world, why would He choose to know me so intimately? I’m sure there are others more interesting, smart, talented… ___________ (insert just about anything) than me.
But here’s the amazing thing about God. He can be this intimately interested in me and just as intimately interested in you and every other person on the face of the planet. Whoever was, whoever is, and whoever will be. He knows us all. How crazy is that? But that is the awe-inspiring love that floods over me when I read these verses in Psalm 139. The Great and Only Holy God gives thought to me. Gives thought to you.
Jesus speaks to this same thought as recorded in Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Every hair on your head is numbered. How detailed, how personal is that. The Great Designer of the Universe, also designed you and me and knows even this finite, piddly detail. And it’s not piddly to Him. Otherwise, why would Jesus even bring it up? He wants us to know how close He truly is to us. How much He truly cares for us. How connected to us He is.
I read the verses in Matthew and Psalm 139 and it is so reminiscent of Psalm 8 where I am reminded of how God looks at his great creation, and considers us. “What is man that you are mindful of him, the sons of man that you care for him?”
These themes have echoed in my heart for as long as I can remember. Like a healing balm to a lonely heart, these words tell me I’m not alone. They tell me that I am thought of and cared for. That I am known in my innermost being, things that no one other than God can know completely. And isn’t that what we truly want? To be completely known and still completely loved.
And that’s just it… we are.
Take a moment to let his love and care soak into your soul. Let God’s words here in Psalm 139 and Psalm 8 reach into the deep parts of your heart and soul. I pray that as Ephesians 3:18 says you would understand the length, width, and height of the love God has for you.
