A Word from Psalm 139

I don’t know about you; but sometimes, the powerful forces at work in the world around us make it easy to feel…well…a little lost. After all, in a world that’s facing armed conflict and economic turmoil, political tension and racial animosity, climate change and artificial intelligence and so much more…how could even God care about the struggles and hopes of one individual life?

But then again, that’s one of the wonders of our faith, isn’t it? That our God is so grand—and His heart so loving—that He knows and sustains each life in all its complexity. And one of the scriptures that expresses that beautifully is today’s word from Psalm 139.

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me,” the psalmist says.

“You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” (vs. 1-6)

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (v. 13)

“How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!”
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—
     when I awake, I am still with you.” (vs. 17-18)

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (vs. 23-24)

So, no matter what you’re facing today, here’s a reminder: God knows and cares…about you.

And may knowing that make all the difference. Amen.