Skip to main content

Oh Lord...You Know




O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise;.

                                                                                                                Psalm 139:1-2a




         This is the beginning of a much-loved psalm. It's another wisdom song and it's one of my favorites. This is another passage that I suggest you pray aloud and pay attention to your own reactions to what you are saying to God. In the Hebrew, the first line doesn't include the second "me." It says, "Lord, you have searched me and you know. We throw around the word "omniscient." We say that God knows, but stop for a moment and really meditate on what is being said here. "Lord, you have searched me, and you know." He knows. He knows your anger. He knows your pain. He knows your fears. He knows your dreams. He knows your failures. He knows your victories. He knows the depth of your love and the shallowness of your faith. All those things you don't want anyone to know? All those things that you forgot? All those things you try to hide? He knows.
      This can be terrible and it can be freeing. It's terrible because so many of the things that God knows because He has searched me and He knows are things that I tend to think are things that cause Him to frown, or glower, or in some other agonizing way express His disapproval. It can be difficult to believe that He knows, and that He still loves.
       In another way, it's freeing. Since God knows these things, you no longer have to hide them. It's a waste of time to try to hide them. He knows. Some people seem to believe that it's wrong to be angry, especially at God. They may be right that it's wrong, but pretending that we're not angry - or denying it even to ourselves doesn't help. The Psalms helped me with this. There are times when David calls down God's judgment on his enemies. He uses such phrases as "shatter their teeth!" There are times when David cries out, "How long, Oh Lord?" This is the same David who, in this Psalm, sang, "You have searched me, and You know."
      Reading the Psalms, I have begun to learn that God is not threatened by our anger, pain, fears, etc. They are not a problem for Him. How freeing to say, "You have searched me, and You know." That confession is the first step. You don't have to pretend any more. You can look at it for what it is and deal with it as it is.  
 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Right Road

          Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:7-12)                  For years before GPSes existed, I told people I wanted something in my car that would tell me, “Turn left in half a mile…turn left in a quarter mile…turn left in 500 feet… turn left in 100 feet…turn left now …You missed the turn, Dummy!” The problem isn’t necessarily that I get lost so much as I’m afraid I’ll get lost. I don’t want to have to spend my whole trip stressing over the next turn. I have the same problem with my spiritual journey.   
Post a Comment
Read more

Died as a Ransom

                 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:15)                  This is something I’d really rather not think about but here it is and it’s important. I was reading in Bold Love about seeking revenge.  The author wrote of seeking justice when a supposed Christian does something sinful, harmful, and/or horrific, like sexually abusing a daughter.  And the thought that came to mind was of God asking if Jesus’ death was sufficient payment to me for the sin committed against me.                I have no specific longing for revenge, vengeance, or justice. I’m sure there are some lurking somewhere in my heart, but this wasn’t a response to one. It was more a question of principle. Jesus’ death was sufficient payment for to God for our sins.  That’s the standard Sunday Schoo
1 comment
Read more

Out of the Depths

  Out of the depths I have cried to You, Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the sound of my pleadings.   If You, Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, so that You may be revered. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and I wait for His word. My soul waits in hope for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning. Israel, wait for the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his guilty deeds . (Psalm 130)             I like Mr. Peterson’s interpretation of the first line. “The bottom has fallen out of my life!” Of course, the problem for some of us is the fact that we’re drama queens, and/or we’re weak. Any time anything happens that disturbs our sense of mastery and control, the bottom has fallen out of our lives. If the past couple of days have taught me anything, they’ve t
1 comment
Read more