Is This A Good Thing?

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

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 (Psalm 139: 1-4, 7-8).

I read Psalm 139 as part of a 5 Psalms a day reading plan and asked myself these questions that I invite you to honestly answer.

·      Do these verses make me thankful God is always present in love or do I feel like He is watching to catch me do bad things?

·      Am I thankful He is always present or embarrassed at what God sees when He looks at me?

Those questions are a version of the more concise and classic statement by A.W. Tozer…“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

How do you see God today and how do you think He sees you?

Continuing in Psalm 139 sheds light on His purposes and how He sees us.

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. Psalm 139:9-10

How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you. Psalm 139: 17-18

While these verses communicate God’s love as a foundation, the chapter ends in a way (see just below) that makes it clear that we are to examine our lives to see if we are living a life worthy of the calling we have received (Eph 4:1).

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

How are you living your life?  Are there things you need to start doing, stop doing, or do more frequently as you train yourself in godliness?

The last word comes from my favorite Bible commentator Dr Thomas Constable (planobiblechapel.org)… “Knowledge of God's attributes can bring great peace into the lives of believers. His comprehensive knowledge, personal presence, and absolute power are all working for the welfare of His people. Therefore we should commit ourselves to Him, remain loyal to Him, and resist those who oppose Him.”