HE KNOWS ME!
When I consider some of the many things David said, my mind jumps to Psalm 139, one of the most profound of all his songs, beginning…
Psalms 139:1 NLT
[1] “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.”
This truth is something we could do well to weave into the very fabric of our everyday lives. God knows me!
This truth can either scare the living daylights out of us or bring comfort and hope in every situation, depending on the way we view God…Judge or Saviour?
The truth is…God knows us! David breaks this thought down to tiny details…thoughts, attitudes, motives, intentions, as well as actions and deeds, and even our coming and going.
The writer to the Hebrews expresses this thought like this…
Hebrews 4:12-13 NLT
[12], “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. [13] Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.”
A story in John’s gospel perfectly illustrates this truth.
The Pharisees, ever out to push Jesus into some infringement of the law, set up a trap. They staged an adultery, no doubt using one of their own, to force Jesus to make a choice, the law or mercy, knowing that He would lean towards mercy.
Throwing the guilty woman down before Him, they demanded His response, according to the law. Caught in the act! Guilty! Stoning was the penalty.
Jesus was unfazed. He said nothing. Instead, He knelt down and wrote in the dust. These foolish Pharisees didn’t reckon on His perfect knowledge of the law. They were too busy judging Him to judge themselves.
Remember the Scripture, the one about the Word of God exposing hearts? Jesus, the Word of God, was living out the Word that smacked them in the middle of their guilty foreheads.
Jeremiah 17:9-10, 13 NIV
[9] “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? [10] “I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”…
[13] Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be WRITTEN IN THE DUST because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.”
These same men, these religious leaders, had just sent temple guards to arrest Jesus.
John 7:32 NIV
[32] “The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.”
The guards returned empty handed because they were so impressed by Jesus’ words…
John 7:37-38 NIV
[37] “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
John 7:45-46 NIV
[45] “Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” [46] “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.”
The Pharisees’ contemptuous response…
John 7:47-49 NIV
[47] “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. [48] “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? [49] No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
… meant only one glaring thing…
Jeremiah 2:13 NIV
[13] “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
What did Jesus write in the dust?
Their names!!! He knew their names! How did He know their names? Only God knows all things! So… He must be God!
The guilty Pharisees fled the scene, leaving Jesus to show the woman mercy because there was no one to witness against her.
Does God’s perfect knowledge of you, (me, us), make you feel uncomfortable, or give you reassurance that you are okay with each other, God and you, because you hide nothing from Him, as if you could!
How do we respond to this discomforting disclosure? Again, David leads the way.
Psalms 139:23-24 NIV
[23] “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. [24] See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
There is only one way to play open cards with God… to be transparent. Since God already knows, we can hide nothing from Him. However, already He knows what we still need to know, hence the prayer, “Show me, God, who I really am.”
Only this kind of honesty, and the willingness to take responsibility for who I really am, will keep the lines of communication open between me and God, and exchange my weakness for His grace.
A truly life-saving way to live life, indeed!