Amazing Knowledge and Love

Read Psalms 138:1–140:13

1. O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
2. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
4. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
5. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
7. I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
8. If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10. even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. Psalm 139:1-10

Areally close friend can help you identify and overcome weaknesses, identify and use your strengths, and make other important changes. The help you get from someone who knows you well—yet still accepts you—can make more difference than a hundred self-help books.

Psalm 139 is a celebration, from first verse to last, of a close friend—God. He knows us better than our closest confidant, even better than we know ourselves. As you read this psalm, celebrate with the writer God’s great knowledge and love.

One psalm in this reading celebrates God’s love in answering our prayers (Psalm 138), while the other one teaches how to survive slander and threats (Psalm 140).

God knows everything about us, even down to the number of hairs on our heads (see Matthew 10:30). He knows what we do as well as what we are. He even knows what we think about (Psalm 139:1-5). Should we expect anything less from our Creator (Psalm 139:13-14)?

Sometimes we don’t let people get to know us because we are afraid they will discover something about us that they won’t like. Or we try to pull back from them because we fear that they’ve already found something distasteful and will reject us. That cannot happen with God. He knows us completely, and still he accepts and loves us.

When you fear (or actually face) rejection from others—whether coworkers, neighbors, friends, or even family members—remember that God made you and has already accepted you, exactly as you are.