Psalm 139 is one of my favorite verses of scripture in all the Bible…
In it we find that David is absolutely overwhelmed that God knows him so well.
Psalm 139
This infinite God is intimately aware of each and every individual on the planet.
In the midst of over six billion persons on the earth, God knows each and every one perfectly.
The very hairs of their heads are numbered.
He knows what each person will say before he says it.
He is present everywhere, personally involved at even the most minute level.
Having created every life, God presides over every aspect of each of these lives.
Every thought, attitude, word, and deed is an open book before Him.
How can a God so immense be so immanent?
Such is the mind-boggling yet soul-comforting reality about our infinite yet intimate God.
David realized that nothing in his life was hidden from God’s all-seeing gaze.
He declared, O LORD, you have searched me, using a word meaning “to explore, spy out, to dig deeply into, to explore a country.”
God knew the very depths of his being, what no one else saw.
You know (yadah, “to know intimately, experientially”) me thoroughly (i.e., his character, being, his very heart).
You know when I sit and when I rise.
These two activities are intended to represent when David rests and rises to work during his day’s activities and everything in between.
He pondered how God knew his thoughts from afar.
Others saw his actions, but God saw into his heart.
God does discern—that is, “to sift through something, to winnow as grain, to sort out the good from the bad”—of his life.
He sees through his going out to labor and his lying down to sleep.
God saw David’s morning departure to work, his evening retiring at home, and, implied, all the other events of the day.
God was deeply familiar with ALL his ways.
He even knew what he was going to say before he said it.
David could only conclude, You know it completely.
God surrounded David like a city being besieged with no way of escape.
There was no way for him to escape his all-knowing thoughts.
God had laid His hand upon him so that He was always near.
Under this kind of close scrutiny, God saw the entirety of his life up close, inside out.
David’s response to all this is,
“Such knowledge is too wonderful and too high.”
God’s omniscience is both convicting and comforting.
And for David, it was humbling, beyond his human capacity to grasp.
Further, David understood that God is all-present, and he could never escape the divine presence.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? or Where can I flee from Your presence?
These two rhetorical questions imply a negative answer.
There is NOWHERE God is not present.
God’s “Spirit,” a reference to the Holy Spirit, is omnipresent.
If I go up to the heavens, David declared, God is there.
Heaven above is God’s eternal dwelling place.
Or if I make my bed in the depths of hell, the other extreme, God is there.
David would never be more face-to-face with God than after he died.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn and fly to the east, or if I settle on the far side of the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean Sea), God is there.
North, south, east, and west are represented here.
No matter where he goes in life or after death, your hand will guide me into the divine will and your right hand will hold me fast.
God is always in touch with his life, which is never beyond the divine reach.
If David says, The darkness will hide me, even then, God sees in the dark and is present there.
This darkness refers to the dark nights of the soul (i.e., dark trials).
Even the darkness will not be dark to you.
Dark times are light to God. He is present in them, knowing perfectly all that is transpiring and what His eternal purposes are.
David is astounded that God precisely created him and ordained the number of his days.
Moreover, David knows that God is all-powerful.
This is proven in that the Lord has made him skillfully in his mother’s womb.
God created his inmost being (i.e., his kidneys, symbolic of his vital organs, his heart, liver, lungs, even his innermost emotions and moral sensitivities).
God knit him like a skilled artisan would weave a beautiful tapestry.
This work of creation was done in his mother’s womb, beginning nine months before he was born.
David could only praise God for this display of wonderful omnipotence.
He understood he was fearfully and wonderfully made, producing awe and astonishment within him toward God who created him so perfectly.
My frame (i.e., bones and skeleton) was not hidden from God but in full view to divine eyes.
God made David in the secret place, a euphemism for the womb, that unseen place concealed from human eyes.
There he was woven together like a multicolored piece of cloth or fine needlepoint.
All these threads picture his veins, arteries, muscles, and tendons.
God saw his unformed body before he was made.
All his days were sovereignly ordained for David before he came into the world.
The span of his life was written by God in His Divine Book containing His eternal decree.
The precise length of his life was determined by God before he was born.
There could be no changing the number of his days (Job 14:5).
These divine truths were precious to David, vast and beyond his human comprehension.
If he tried to list these truths about God, they would outnumber the grains of sand on the beaches of the world, far past his ability to understand.
When he awakens, his thoughts are still dominated with God.
He cannot remove such towering thoughts about God from his mind.
Clearly the Bible is telling us, in verse 16b that God has choreographed each and every day of our life before we were born
What a comforting thought it is to know that God knows each of us intimately, in that same way, as He knew David.
This is not just a feel-good message, it is one of hope and strength and one that should bring us peace.
God speaking to the Prophet Jeremiah said,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
Let’s take a closer look at what God meant when He said “Before you were born I knew you” and why this is important to how we view ourselves.
It is easy, especially in these days and times, to get caught up in the craziness of everyday life.
Whether your “crazy” is joyful or full of fear and anxiety, it consumes your thoughts and influences your actions.
Let’s take a step back for a moment and look at a much bigger picture.
As humans, we are limited in our knowledge, time, perspective, and abilities.
We are born, live, and die usually within a span of 100 years.
100 years is nothing in the large expanse of time that surrounds our physical world.
Think about everyone that has lived before you.
Thousands of years of people on earth, working, playing, making good choices and poor ones.
Thousands of years of people falling in love, having children, losing those they care about.
And just think about this for a minute, that out of all of these tens of millions of people, all the descendants of Adam and Eve who ever lived, that God knew and knows each and everyone so intimately, even to the number of hairs in their head, and that includes you.
If that doesn’t blow your mind I don’t know what will!
Not only did God know us in our mother’s womb, but His thoughts toward us are precious.
Being the amazing creator that He is, He doesn’t stop there. He also has a plan and a destiny for each of our lives.
When Jesus said, “I came that you may have life and have it more abundantly,” that “Abundant Life” only happens as we line up with God’s plan and purpose for our life.
Jeremiah 1:5 talks about how God had chosen Jeremiah to be a prophet before he was even born.
His plan and purpose was established from the very beginning.
However Isaiah also speaks of God’s plan for his life that was established before he was born.
“And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and My God shall be My strength) (Isaiah 49:5)
So if you are doubting that God is with you or doubting who you are in Christ, meditate on these truths.
God knew us before we were born.
We see this in the verses above.
God knew you and formed you in your mother’s womb.
He knew you before your mother did and His words to Joshua are relevant for you too.
He will never leave you or forsake you.
“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)
God has a plan for your life. Not just a plan for next week or next month, but a purpose for your life.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3-6)
God is working all things for your good.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30)
We serve a personal God. One who hears us when we pray, comforts us when we cry, and rejoices with us when we are glad.
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)
God’s love and purpose for our lives do not end when we leave this earth.
His real plan is to bring you to salvation that you may live with Him for all eternity.
“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2-3)
So let us find our rest in the knowledge that God knew us before we were born and is walking beside us through this journey we call life.
Selah (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
____
Saturday, June 4
Inspiration Ministries
GOD’S BOOK
“In Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape.”
— Psalm 139:16 (AMPC)
Holding the reader’s attention can be a challenge for writers.
According to one study, fewer than 20% of readers read past the headline of articles.
The same principle is true for novels.
Readers may pay attention for a time but most quickly lose interest.
How would we approach our lives if they were written like a book?
Would we be intrigued by the situations we face?
Would we wonder what will happen next?
What will be the basis of our decisions?
What will be the conclusion of the story?
Will there be a happy ending?
The Bible tells us God has written a book about each of us.
As David wrote here,
“all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape.”
David realized that God had no doubts about the outcome of world events or the resolution of each life.
To Him, there are no mysteries about the obstacles or the problems.
The only question is whether we will trust Him or cooperate with Him.
Today, remember that God has written all your days in His book before they took shape.
He knows what will happen next. You do not need to worry or be afraid.
Instead of letting these emotions fill your heart, turn your thoughts toward God.
Seek Him in prayer. Fill your mind with His Word, and declare His promises to be true.
You can trust Him.
Reflection Question:
How will you show that you’re trusting God with your future?
Prayer
Father, thank You that every day of my life has been written in Your book. I trust in You and commit my life to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Today’s Bible Reading
Psalm 139
____
Come join the Adventure!
Skip 🕊️
SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES 