Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Psalm 139:13-24 - God's Loving, Personal Knowledge

Psalm 139:13-24
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.
O that You would slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, and Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

Message: God knows me, the wicked should be far from me and I need to be careful of who I am

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

My reading for 12/15/15, what stood out to me was how near the Psalmist was to God. And then how the Lord was not simply near but also desired to lead. And now as I turn to the rest of Psalm 139, I see further the intimacy the Lord has with the Psalmist, and me. 

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I notice the words here. This isn't simply knowledge of us, but this is forming of us. Every person is fearfully and wonderfully made. How sad that some people won't to make a change to what God has done, calling it a mistake. And yet I suppose there are defects that may occur, but even in this, there is a struggle in identifying what is a defect. I guess when I think defect, I think born with a cleft palate. And yet many now are saying they were born the wrong gender. The bottom line is we are each fearfully and wonderfully made and I can take that to mean that I am not a mistake. I am valuable. 

In Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me. This is most interesting. God has ordained days for me. He knows the time of my beginning and when I will depart this earth. Do I really walk around in life realizing that this is His knowledge? It may not change my day to day behavior, but I can trust in Him. 

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. Again here is that reminder of how valuable I am to God. He thinks of me. He has thoughts of me. I try so hard to remember God and yet, it says, He remembers me. That is so wonderful. I am valuable.  

O that You would slay the wicked, O God. To see others that want to do nothing with God is a mystery. My atheist friend actually just became an agnostic because he thought that God was possible, but he didn't believe in any of the religions then defining God. It is one thing for there to be a God, but no man gets to carve out and decide how that God is defined. But, the Psalmist clearly says that those that hate God are our enemies. I am to avoid them. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. On the heels of talking about those that are enemies of God, I need to make sure that my life does not mirror that persona in any way shape, form, or way. I am to be led in the everlasting way. 

Promise: God has loving and personal knowledge of me. 

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