Psalm 139
Would you describe yourself as a person that is an open book? Are you quick to share yourself with others, do you make friends easily, finding connecting points with just about everyone you meet? Or do you find that you hold your thoughts and opinions tighter? Do you need to be with longtime friends to open up and share your emotions? I think that all of us are a little bit different and feel comfortable at different levels of friendship with others. No matter where you find yourself on the spectrum, there are times when we don’t let people get too close because we are afraid that they will discover something about us that they don’t like. We are scared that too much honesty on our part will bring judgement or changed opinions of us. Let’s be honest, we all like to control our reputations and our personas. We like to present the good and downplay the ugly.
But with God, there is no “presenting” for us to do. God already knows EVERYTHING about us. He watched as we were being formed in our mother’s wombs. Every day of our lives was recorded in His book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. He knows when we sit or stand, when we travel or are home. He knows our thoughts and He knows what we are going to say before we even say it. If we went to the heavens He would be there, if we went to the farthest oceans He would still be there to guide us and support us. Darkness cannot hide us from Him, we can never escape His presence. He knows and loves us completely and He still accepts us. God is with us through every situation and in every trial…guiding, loving and protecting us. His love is so different than the love we are capable of. We are mostly only able to love with conditions and expectations. God’s love is vast, all encompassing, ever present, generous, sacrificial, lavish, helpful, perfect, overflowing, unconditional and mighty. David says, “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them, they outnumber the grains of the sand”.
The beginning of Ps 139 starts with David saying. “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.” Then David finishes this chapter with, “ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” David knew just as we do that God knows everything about us. So he asked God to point out the areas where David was lacking or choosing his own thoughts over God’s thoughts. It takes some maturity and a lot of trust to ask the One who knows every thought you have and every motive in your heart to examine your heart and point out any offenses. The truth is that God is already there, He already knows and sees all, but sometimes we act like children and pretend that we are keeping things from Him. We tell ourselves that our thoughts are private and only known to us. Isn’t that the only way we can live with ourselves some times? Maybe it’s time to get real about what God knows. Maybe today we should focus all day on how aware we are that He knows everything. We could ask God to point out to us where we are not being honest with ourselves, where we are trying to cover and hide our messes. Are you brave enough to ask Him to point out your offenses today?
(If you are too scared, maybe go back to the end of the second paragraph and reread the ways that he loves us. The purpose for His pointing out offenses to us is so that we can change for good, not so he can zap or punish us. He loves us and wants the best for us. Him turning a blind eye and letting us continue on a sinful path doesn’t help us. He knows this and loves us too much to let us lie to ourselves if we are seeking His truth.)