Known Completely

Psalm 139:1-6

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 is one of my favorite psalms, so, today, I’m just going to share my thoughts on just the first 6 verses.  I hope this blesses you.

There are parts of us that are visible to everyone else… and there are parts that aren’t.  And we like it that way!  Some things I can’t hide … like I’m short and a little too round.  Some things are hidden … like my thoughts and attitudes.

The other day I was in a restaurant with lots of TV’s on different stations.  Each one had Closed Captioning on so we could read what was being said (mostly accurate) without having all the sets blaring out the audio. Thank heavens, it was already loud enough in there!  Can you imagine what it would be like if each of us wore a little TV screen constantly displaying what we were thinking?  Yikes!  Can you say “Uncomfortable!”  And with the way my thoughts jump around, someone would probably smack me to fix the screen … like we used to do with our TV when I was a kid.  (Yes, we had TV’s way back then, and when the picture got wavy, we’d smack it.  It eventually caught fire.)

Well, God doesn’t need Closed Captioning to know our thoughts.  And He doesn’t smack us when they get all messed up, either.

He is also familiar with all of our “ways.”  What are our “ways?”  He knows what we like and what we don’t.  He knows where we are comfortable, and where we are not.  He knows our favorite colors.  He knows what gives us pleasure, and what scares us.  The neat thing about someone knowing our “ways” is that this takes time and effort… relationship.  It doesn’t just happen.  When a friend does something nice for me, or gets me a gift that “they know I’ll like,” it is because they have taken the time to get to know me.  They think I’m worth knowing.

God loves us enough to really know us.  He says we are worth it!  He doesn’t just lump us together with everyone else.  He knows us individually and uniquely.  After all, that is how He made us … each of us is one-of-a-kind.

This does bring up some interesting questions.

If God knows when we sit and stand, what we are going to say even before we do … and He is Sovereign (possessing supreme or ultimate power) … does He make us do those things?   Or, from another angle … when someone does something hurtful to us, or says mean and nasty things to us … since God knows, is that what He wanted to happen?

No!  God is Sovereign, but He has given us the gift of free will and He’s won’t take it back.  Romans 11:29 tells us that “… God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”  He doesn’t take back His gifts.  He knows ahead of time our choices – good and bad.  He knows ahead of time what we’re going to say, as well as what words we’ll use – good and bad … even our tone of voice!  He rejoices in our good choices, but He is saddened by the not-so-good.

Verse 5 says “You hem me in behind and before…”  This really used to bother me.  I don’t like to be hemmed in.  To me, this said trapped … out on a limb … vulnerable … stuck.  In Hebrew, the word for “hemmed in” is tsuwr.  It means to confine, secure, enclose, shut up.  Sounds like being grounded!  Then I looked deeper.

When the enemy is attacking, it is comforting to know that I am secure and enclosed in the Lord.  The enemy has to get past God’s protection… or I have to let him in.  But why would I do that … let him in?  Probably … hopefully … out of ignorance.  If we play in the devil’s backyard – horoscopes, fortune tellers, negative talk, unforgiveness, lust, etc. – we must remember that these things open up the door to the enemy. Again, God has given us a free will.  If we freely invite the enemy in, God won’t interfere.  There is a battle going on.  Satan has already lost and he wants to take as many people with him as he can.   And he doesn’t care if you didn’t know you had crossed into enemy territory.  There have been people in the news who “accidentally” crossed into another country … and ended up in prison … or dead!

So, if you’ve done that … if you have found yourself in the devil’s playground, there is redemption, forgiveness and freedom in Jesus.  First of all, admit you’ve been where you shouldn’t be.  Ask God to forgive you (He will), and repent … turn around … pursue God and His Kingdom instead.  And don’t forget to ask Holy Spirit to close the door to the enemy.  Satan likes to sneak back in.  Declare that you are done with the enemy!  This is important… there is tremendous power in our words.  (There may be several doors open.  Ask Holy Spirit to show you any others that need closing.  This may not happen all at once, but He is Faithful.)

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”  The fact that our Heavenly Father knows us intimately – inside and out – that is mind blowing!  Spend some time thanking Him and praising Him for His unending, immeasurable love and goodness. 

P.S.  The enemy hates this.

Dear God,

You are a really BIG God.
It blows my mind that you even want to know me,
Let alone take the time to really know all about me…
And that You CARE about me.

Please show me the areas where
I have crossed into enemy territory.
I want to follow You only,
and I want nothing to do with
Satan’s evil plans and powers.

Forgive me, Jesus.
Lord, please close any open doors
that the enemy has been using to have access to me.
I turn my life over to You, Jesus.
Thank you for loving me,
and never giving up on me.

Amen.