“Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; You understand my thought from far away. You scrutinize my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, Lord, You know it all. You have encircled me behind and in front and placed Your hand upon me.”
The idea that God knows me completely and loves me anyway is almost incomprehensible.
Very few people really know me…Most know the sanitized, social media version of me produced for public consumption, but they don’t actually know me.
My family has a clearer picture - they see the tip of the iceberg - my self-centeredness, and hypocrisy, and yet God somehow still puts love in their hearts for me.
But this passage goes beyond that ….This passage says God has seen it all…the good, the bad, and the ugly. He’s seen our worst moments and knows our hidden secrets. He knows the lies we tell others, and the truths we are afraid to face about ourselves.
He has seen our opinion of those not like us. He has heard the words we mutter under our breath…He knows them before we mutter them.
Yet still He adores us.
He protectively places His hand on us. When I visualize God with His hand lovingly on my shoulder, my mind can’t really grasp it. But even my limited comprehension of this truth should be enough to change my life - regardless of circumstances.
His undeserved love for me, is implicitly stated in scripture – how can I not boldly do His work. What should I fear if God knows me completely and has chosen me as His child anyway?... Isn’t the rest just details?
How liberating it is to be cherished authentically. We don’t have to be the cleaned-up version of ourselves for God to love us. We are completely known, and completely loved.
In our worst moments… we can rest in our Father’s Love - knowing it has been signed, sealed, and delivered by the Cross.
“…neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39
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