Weekly Devotional Scripture: Psalm 139:1–6, 23–24 (NIV)
GOD KNOWS YOUR STORY!
1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
-Psalm 139:1–6 (NIV)
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
-Psalm 139:23–24 (NIV)
As I drove home after lunch with my best friend, I thanked God out loud for her. She
knows me and loves me in spite of things I don’t love about myself. She’s one of a small
circle of people who accept me as I am—my quirks, habits, and screw-ups. Still, there
are parts of my story I resist sharing even with her and others that I love—times where
I’ve clearly not been the hero, times I’ve been judgmental or unkind or unloving.
But God does know my whole story. He’s the One I can freely talk to even if I’m reluctant
to talk with others.
The familiar words of Psalm 139 describe the intimacy we enjoy with our Sovereign King.
He knows us completely! (v. 1). He’s “familiar with all [our] ways” (v. 3). He invites us to
come to Him with our confusion, our anxious thoughts, and our struggles with
temptation. When we’re willing to yield completely to Him, He reaches out to restore and rewrite the parts of our story that make us sad because we’ve wandered from Him.
God knows us better than anyone else ever can, and still . . . He loves us! When we
daily surrender ourselves to Him and seek to know Him more fully, He can change our
story for His glory. He’s the Author who’s continuing to write it.
Reflection & Prayer
What assurance do you have that God will always love you unconditionally? How
can you make yielding to Him a daily practice?
Precious Father, thank You for loving me as Your child despite the times I’ve
disappointed You. Help me to yield all of myself to You in full assurance that You’re
faithfully walking beside me.