The Nearness of God in our Life
This week we are doing the blog devo style. Diving into the word and letting God reveal to us the wisdom in it. This is for you, desiring to love scripture and see the wisdom in it. Maybe you feel like you are in a place of wanting more of God but don’t feel equipped to read his word, or hear his voice, or create a moment with him. This week’s blog is one that will help you unpack scripture and the encouragement beyond the words on the page. Before I begin my quiet time I love to pray and invite God into my heart. As you read through this blog in your car, in the waiting room, on your couch, after practice, write where you are whisper this prayer or say it outloud as you invite God to shepherd you through his word today:
God thank you for your Word. Thank you for filling my soul and lighting my path. You are the best friend I could ask for, that you meet me right where I am at to give me my daily bread. I run to you today because I know that you have all that I need. I invite you into my heart, I invite you into my life because I know that I can’t do it without you. As your sheep today would you shepherd me to see exactly what you want me to see and help me hear exactly what I need to hear. I love you God and I give my day to you.
Today we are unpacking Psalm 139. This passage is one that I have been reading over and over again recently because of how it reveals the nearness of God’s heart to us. It reveals God’s intentionality and how much he really cares for you and me.
Psalms 139 begins with, “ You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” This beginning passage always leaves me in awe of God’s knowledge of me. God knows ever moment about you. He knows when an opportunity is on the way, he sees you when you are hurting, he knows the words you are going to say to your friends before they come out of your mouth.
The thought that comes to my mind about this passage and God’s heart for us is how he sees those parts of us and still chooses us. He sees you when you are getting ready to go to the party and hook up with the boy, he knows the gossip you’re going to share before you share it, he is familiar with our motives and the heart behind why we choose the things we choose. He knows all of that and even knowing those things his greatest desire is to still be a part of our life. Not just to self help us but because he loves us. After seeing all that God knows about us the verse says “you lay your hand upon me,” which means his favor is still on us, his blessing is still on us, and his love is still on us. Our doings don’t determine that compassion God has for us
Verse 7-12 say, “ 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 will become night around me,’ even the night will shine like the day for darkness is light to you.” There is nowhere that we can go that God’s presence is not near. When we “make our beds in the depths” aka when we make the wrong decisions, when we say the wrong thing, choose the wrong choice, God is still right there with us. I love the part that shares about light in darkness. This verse meant a lot to me when my grandmother was battling cancer. No matter the bad news, no matter the hurt feelings, no batter the breakup, or the mean girl at school, or the invite that never came, our dark days still get to be full of light because God is near us. Light is who God is, so it follows him wherever he goes. Because he is in front of you, behind you, beneath you, and beside you, you walk in the light even when dark things try to have their way.
Verse 13-18
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 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 wake, I am still with you.” God knew us before anyone else did.
This is a hard thought to even be able to fathom, that he orchestrated our life and our purpose before we were even formed here on earth. As a matter of fact he created our life here on earth because he knew he had purpose and life for us to live out. God’s works are wonderful, and that work is us. How can we be so confident in every other work of his but not ourselves. If the trees and the wildflowers are viewed as wonderful, how much more so are we? Are you confident that God creates good things? Are you confident that he created beautiful things? I pray that you would know just how good, beautiful, and full of purpose that you are.
Verse 19-24
If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you Lord and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. 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 of everlasting. Have you ever been corrected, maybe “gotten in trouble” as I always viewed it? Think of that moment and imagine asking for it…. You wouldn’t dare, I know I wouldn’t. Who just openly wants to be told what they are doing wrong and how it could be better. That is exactly what David is doing with God in this passage. He is saying “God will you search me, will you show me where I need to grow and get better? On top of that, can you even test me? Give me a hard day, I want to learn to be better at it.
What a vulnerable request of David from the Lord. David knew he didn’t want to be like those who were far from God and misusing his name so instead he asked God how he could be more like him. I want to be like that version of David! When I think of how scary it can be to ask God to search me and show me the bad places in my heart and to test me and to know even more about me I also think of how there is no one else I would want to see the deepest [arts of me. No one other than Jesus that I would want to heal the deepest parts of me. God is safe. God is near to the depths of your heart. He sees your heart as beautiful, fearful, and wonderful, be confident in that this week.
XO Scarlet
