Psalm 139:1-5; 12-17 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 139:1-5; 12-17 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
Verse 2You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
Verse 3You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
Verse 4Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.
Verse 5You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
Verse 12even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
Verse 13For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
Verse 14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
Verse 15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Verse 16Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.
Verse 17How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
Devotion
Not many of us would welcome having our lives read like a book. There may be many details we’d be willing to share, but we all have things we don’t want anyone else to know.
The psalmist knew that feeling well. King David was faithful in many ways. His life was a powerful instrument in God’s hands. But he was far from perfect. Still, he recognized God’s knowledge of his life, and he rejoiced in God’s unfailing love.
God knows our lives better than we ourselves. Every action, every thought, every word, every deed, every motive and desire – nothing is hidden from God. Why? Because He created us. He formed us. He fashioned and made us. All of our days were numbered by Him before even one of them came to be.
The good news is that God knows your story inside and out. And He still loves you. He’ll always love you. You’re His child. You’ve been created by Him. And your days are eternally in His hands.
Prayer
Almighty God, you fashioned and made us and know us in greater detail than we’ll ever know. Help us to cling to the promise of your love, and to the assurance that we belong eternally to you, in Jesus. Amen.