God knows me. Intimately. My thoughts, my actions, my tendencies. He knew them before I even did them. And he is that closely available to all who have come before, all current 8.3 billion people currently in the world, and all yet to come. There is nothing about us that God doesn’t already know. To be fully known and fully loved – what comfort. Perhaps you’ve had experiences with other imperfect humans, in which you revealed your personality to them and instead of being a safe place, they created judgement and even resentment towards you. Not so that way of our God. The mistakes you made, the impure thoughts you have, the rebellious tendencies you’ve demonstrated… He knows them all and He still loves you. It helps us see a little further into the goodness of God’s correction. When we feel conviction to change our ways or repent from our actions, it isn’t God discovering something hidden from Him, it is simply Him showing it to us so that He can transform us.
David points out that there is nowhere we can hide from God. We may choose to distance ourselves, we may choose not to reach out to Him, we can run physically as hard and fast and far as our might will take us. But as a parent guarding the steps of their small child just learning to walk on their own, God goes before us and comes in behind us to ensure protection is always available. When we’ve turned our back on God, remember that He has never walked away from you. Simply turn and fall back into His loving arms. He created us for relationship with Him. Though divine and rightfully exalted, He is accessible to us, and He values closeness with us.
When we shift our mindset to recognize God’s omnipotence, we get to sit in awe of His perfect knowledge and creative power. From the tiniest molecule inside the innermost workings of a single mundane garden weed to the vastness of the farthest reaches of the galaxy – God’s fingerprints are evident throughout it. His design, His presence, His workmanship. It is with that same precision and detail that He has formed each one of us.
He formed you in your mother’s womb.
He knitted together every part of your being.
He designed the details of your physical body and your soul.
He knew the person He created in you, flaws and all.
He placed every freckly on your face, set your eyes just so and perfected your smile.
He gave every spiritual gift you’ll need to complete His assignment for you.
God sees the vastness of the universe from beginning to eternity and He decided that it needed you in it.
You’re skillfully crafted, a masterpiece and God’s work of art. He gave you purpose. You’re here on purpose. You bear the fingerprints of a Creator that intentionally brought you into existence. And how should that make us feel? Well, in short, “GOOD!”
You can rest confidently in the fact that your value comes from the One who made you, not in your own accomplishments, failures and efforts. How do you treat yourself in light of this reality? We are to care for our bodies, guard our minds, speak to yourself with truth and grace while humbly recognizing your worth.
But if you’re that special to God, it is key to recognize this truth: so is the rest of His creation. Even the people that are difficult. Those that look different from us, disagree with us, make terrible mistakes and are overlooked by society. God still sees them, too. He still pursues them, too.
In a fallen world of darkness it is our honor to be His light. Where the enemy may be penetrating the lives and actions of others, it is our duty to reflect the love of their creator. It’s easy to be angered, human emotions are dangerous to toy with in that capacity. But as we learned from observing David, we are to trust God with divine justice and not take it upon ourselves to delve out vengeance based on our own vendettas. We can trust Him in His perfection.
Because God knows everything, we cannot surprise Him. We can trust Him. We can believe His prophecies. Because God is everywhere, we cannot out run Him. Because God is all-powerful, we cannot change His purposes, even in our mere human stupidity. And perhaps most importantly, because He created us intentionally, we never have to doubt whether our lives have value.
I pray this week that we may all be bold enough to humble ourselves before the Lord and ask Him to expose what is within us. Not for punishment or shame, but for the opportunity to lean more deeply into Him and surrender more fully to His will.