 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24
God is an such an amazing and wonderful God! Today, I want to just invite you to walk with me through Psalm 139 and consider our amazing God.
God knows EVERYTHING – He is Omniscient. He knows you.
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
To fully grasp this, we cannot. We have to agree with David that such knowledge is above us, we cannot even imagine such incredible knowledge that God has. Yet, He does know everything. He knows everything about you…perfectly. You beginning, your ending, your progress, your words, your thoughts. God knows you, perfectly. Excited, scary, wonderful and yet so true.
God is EVERYWHERE – He is Omnipresent – He is with you.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
We are not always aware of or enjoying God’s presence…yet our fickle understanding does not change reality. There is nowhere you could be that God is not there. He is never absent or away.
God is ALL POWERFUL – He is Omnipotent – He is working all around you.
God’s Power is seen in your past – He created you
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
God’s Power is seen in your present – He is upholding you
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
God’s Power is seen in the future – in His final judgment of mankind
Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
God’s Power is unlimited and only glimpsed by us as we look to the past, present and future. Yet as we do…we see God reigning in might and power
So what will you do with this reality of who God is?
God is all knowing, all present and all powerful – how will you respond to our incredible God? I love David’s response … and I make it mine.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Don’t misunderstand David – he is not unaware of his failures and folly. He is not saying that he does not know any sin in his life so is asking God to look for it. Most of us read that and think – no way, that is too scary – I know God will find bunches of bad stuff. Indeed He would. Yet, David’s prayer, my prayer is not that.
David is asking in light of all that God is – that God would guide his life, his course of life so that he is not on a course that is wicked…but on a path that is rising and growing in God, that is pursing all that God is and has for him. Today, I encourage you to make this your prayer and trust in light of who God is.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Jim
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