Psalm 139:1-18
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, 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 cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
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.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
Leading up to the moment in which I truly repented of all past sins and failings, I remember the trepidation of what it would mean to make myself vulnerable, and confess my sins, repent, and follow Jesus. I also remember the immense relief I felt when I was met with mercy rather than a lightening bolt. I remember a peace I'd found which went beyond all understanding.
Throughout the journey though, this peace can get lost in the sound of the enemy's lies, or in the guilt of mistakes we continue to make.
God's love for you is so profound. There is no part of you, and nothing you have done, and nothing you could ever do, to deter his immense affection. While this is true for each of us, we still occasionally find ourselves having a tendency to keep parts of ourselves hidden from God.
Two points to consider:
1) He knows everything.
2) He loves us despite knowing everything.
We are safe in his arms. There is no place more safe than in his embrace.
What parts of our lives are we withholding from God? Today, rather than keeping him at arm's length, let's make a concerted effort to run towards him with reckless abandon.
Take a moment today to vocally thank God for his love and mercy.
Your brother on the journey,
Nick