July 14, 2011

Psalm 139:1-16 (Click to see scripture)

Bible in One Year Passages:
Luke 9:23-27, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-16, 1 Chronicles 27-28

Journal Entry

Scripture

1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Observation

There is an incredible confession coming out from the Psalmist in vv. 1 - 6. He confesses that God in His omnipresence, knows us. He knows everything that we do in our physical actions, whether we're sitting or standing (v.2) until the moment we speak with our tongue (v. 4). God is also proactive. He knows because He searches within us (v. 3). His desire is to search out our paths to every minute details. This is the intimacy of God. He is not a God who just sits up in heaven waiting for things to take place, but He is proactive. He is vastly interested in what we do, how we react, what thoughts sustain us and what makes us tick. He is absolutely interested in everything that we do and say! In v. 6, we read the overwhelming response from the Psalmist by such truth. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me..." This feeling of overwhelm becomes a reality to the vast and intimate actions of God. And in v. 13, the Psalmist goes deeper by confessing the details of God's work from the moment of conception. Even before we were in our mother's womb, God desired relationship with us.

Everyone wants to be known and everyone wants to be recognize. And eventually, everyone wants to be loved. And yet, we must ask ourselves, do we know just how much God knows us? Do we know just how much God loves us? His proactive nature in wanting to have a relationship has to be too wonderful for us!

Application

Today, I am reminded of God's unrelenting passion to know me. Because too often, I live my life as if God is inactive, uncaring, and disinterested in what I do. And God feels inactive in my life, when sin consumes me, distancing myself from God. Today's passage reminds me of a song by Tommy Walker called "He Knows My Name" which elaborates the same line as to the Psalmist's confession:

He Knows My Name
by Tommy Walker

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkw3a4raWfg

Prayer

Father,

The knowledge of You knowing every detail of my life is too wonderful for me! I am daily humbled by Your actions in wanting to know the details of my life. So how can I not praise you? How can I run from Your Spirit?

Lord, in my actions may I be reminded of such truth. That in everything I say and do, may I be reminded of Your love for me. As You are active in me, may I be active in wanting to worship You for all that you are!

--p. caleb