Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 139:1-6
Ps 139:1-6
O LORD, you have searched me 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 know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Luke 9:46-48
An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all-he is the greatest."
One of the many things that qualifies God to be our judge, that you and I do not possess, is the ability to know the thoughts and the motives of our hearts. Even before we have a thought fully formed in our minds, God can know where it will end and what we will do with it. On several occasions, Jesus knew the minds of those around him and answered what they were thinking or saying to each other.
From our perspective this can be bad. We cannot hide our thoughts from God. Even with our best acting job, he knows what is in our hearts and the real reason why we do or say something. We may hide our motives from those around us but God can see through our hypocrisy. However, if our thoughts are evil continually, it will eventually come out in our lives and our speech. God knows our mind.
But this is also a very good thing. When I am trying to do my best to please God but I fail because of my weakness or because of my lack of understanding, he knows what is in my heart and he knows my good motives. When things come from my mouth in a way that is not intended, he knows the real intention of my heart. When I am trying to pray about that heavy burden but don’t know how to form the words, his Spirit can intercede for me and place my burden before the God of heaven for me. The mind of God is too wonderful to understand.
O Lord God, it is such a joy and comfort to know that you can know my thoughts even before I know them. I know that you allow me to decide to trust you or to trust myself, but I also know that you can nudge me in the right direction because you know my heart and my desire to please you. I need your wisdom and your strength every day to accomplish what you want from my life. Help me bring honor to you and your name in all I do. Use me to teach and guide others as they seek to serve you. Increase my faith and trust in you. I pray in Jesus name.
Robert
