Dec 08 2008
GOD KNOWS ME BETTER THAN I KNOW MYSELF
MEMORY VERSE FOR 12/07/08 -12/13/08
PSALM 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
God knows us better than we could ever know ourselves. He loves us and created us even knowing everything that we would ever do. This is the subject of our study this week. We will begin with one of the greatest Psalms ever written. We simply must begin this new format with a new understanding of God’s intense love for us and His intense understanding of us. How can we ever learn to trust someone that we do not know. This Psalm gives us a powerful look at God and Who He is as well as His love for us.
Psalm 139 (NKJV)
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Read through this Psalm several times. Get a real good feel for what David is saying here. From reading verses 19-22 we learn that this was a time of trouble for David. These are the things that gave David comfort during this time of opposition. I personally received great comfort as well when I was facing tremendous opposition last week. To be able to get some sort of understanding as to just how in depth God’s knowledge of me is was so comforting and refreshing to my spirit.
David sums up his understanding of God in 4 ways.
- Verses 1-6 God knows me.
- Verses 7-12 God is with me.
- Verses 13-18 God created me.
- Verses 19-24 God’s cause is my cause.
Just how well does God know us? The first 6 verses tell us that God knows us completely inside and out. He knows every detail. I particularly like verse 6 because it very plainly tells us that god’s knowledge of us is far beyond our ability to understand and that such knowledge is “too wonderful”. How could I begin to explain God’s knowledge of me? I just simply could not explain it.
The next 6 verses explain that we can not hide from God. Do you remember in Genesis how Adam and Eve tried to hide from God after they had sinned against Him? I do the same thing way too often. These verses clearly tell us that trying to hide from God is useless. Wherever we go He is there. “You can run but you can not hide.” I do not remember where I first heard that but I believe it is quite appropriate here. It is funny how I know I can not hide from Him yet I continue to try. It would be so much simpler to just repent and be done with it.
6 more verses show us how detailed God was in creating us. God began to create us before we were even conceived. WOW! No wonder David was so in love with God. He knew what I forget. God knew all about me before I was ever formed in my mother. How can we look at these verses and not love a God that knows us so completely and made us anyway?
The last 6 verses David professes his devotion to God. After realizing God’s devotion to me from the first 18 verses I am left with the same conclusion as David. God knows me so completely, He is always with me, He took such pains in creating me. How can I do anything but be devoted to Him?
These verses also demonstrate 3 of those huge words that Christians love to throw around that I could never understand. Please tell me I am not alone in my lack of understanding for the meaning of the following 3 words.
- Omniscience Everyone has some knowledge, but only God has all knowledge.
- Omnipresence Everyone is present somewhere at any given moment, but only God can be present absolutely everywhere at every given moment.
- Omnipotence Every person has some power, but only God has unlimited power.
I know so many Christians have attempted to explain these things to me but this is absolutely the best I have ever comprehended them. After spending time allowing God to speak to me I finally am starting to vaguely understand some of the great and vast truths that god has for each of us. Have you ever had what I cal a “Da” moment where suddenly the light came on and things began to make sense? That is how I would describe the moment that I received these revelations. What had once been so complicated now seemed so simple. This does not just happen for me. God loves to give everyone these “Da” moments because He enjoys the excitement that we have when we suddenly come to great revelations. they may not seem like much to others but at the time you receive it is absolutely the greatest thing that has ever happened to you. Go! Share with others what you learn because it may help them in ways you do not realize.
I hope you have enjoyed this study as much as I have enjoyed bringing it. I do know that I have been hindered at every turn trying to get this to you.
I have some fantastic testimonies and praise reports to bring you tomorrow and I am looking forward to receiving yours. E-mail me with your praise reports and testimonies: cathyisgodschild@live.com
