Wherever you are today, whatever weight feels too heavy to carry, and whatever your past, present, or future circumstances are, this is for you. This is your reminder that God sees the BIG picture of your life. He actually knows your life better than anyone, even you, because He created it. He created YOU! If you are in a hard season, do not lose faith. God sees you, and He will use this season of difficulty to yield fruit (see Romans 8:28 if you don't believe me).
King David wrote Psalm 139, and it is one of the final Psalms of the Davidic collection. It shows just how well and how much God knows each one of us. It reads:
“Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord. You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me. This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night’ — even the darkness is not dark to You. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to You.
For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me to comprehend; how vast their sum is! If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with You.
God, if only You would kill the wicked — you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me — who invoke You deceitfully. Your enemies swear by You falsely. Lord, don’t I hate those who hate You, and detest those who rebel against You? I hate them with extreme hatred; I consider them my enemies. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way" (Psalms 139:1-24 HCSB)
Friends, David paints a picture of God here as all-knowing and everywhere. It is more than we could ever comprehend within our human understanding. God created us in our mother’s womb, for purpose – but not just for any purpose -- for His purpose. We need to understand that in the good and hard seasons. After this, we then we see David share REAL feelings of hatred with God. He is honest with Him but doesn’t dwell in that emotion. We, too, have feelings of hatred at times, or anger, addiction, fear, anxiety, depression, or whatever emotion we personally wrestle with. But just as David, we need to release it to God, asking the Lord to search our hearts to see if there’s any offensive way in our emotions. Ultimately David here is asking God to change his heart so He could lead David in the everlasting way. We can share our real feelings with God. He already knows them anyway. As we’re sharing, we also need to submit them to Him to allow Him to turn our hearts towards His Holy Way. Friends, talk with God today and be real about your feelings and circumstances. He can and will handle them. Also, remember that God is always near whether we are near to Him or not. This week let’s fall in line with His will, His way, and His heart by turning our hearts towards Him.
“The Lord is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
Thanks for reading along! If you (or a friend) needs prayer, please reach out to as.crews@yahoo.com. Also, if we're not friends yet, please subscribe to my email list! I'll send these to your email each week, with an audio clip of the Weekly Encouragement. Have a great week, friends!
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