God knows you...

oh 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.
psalm 139:1-6

i believe there are times in our lives where we sometimes may feel like a nothing...
singles may feel it until they get married...
some married people may feel it until they have a baby...
some may feel it until they get that job of their dreams...

i had an interesting conversation with an old friend last week...he has truly been struggling with depression...and seriously wondering if anyone would notice if he dropped off the planet...

at times where i have felt like this in my life...my go to verse was the one listed above in psalm 139...

i can clearly point out times in my life where i had dreams in my heart that i thought were from God...and i started wondering if they were just my dreams...i wondered till i was wondered out...

have you ever felt like that?

in looking back...what i learned...these are the times...i think...where we as humans...need to be very careful...we get to the point where we may get the the wrong perception about God...about ourselves...and about our circumstances...

for me...it took a very simple situation that God showed me to break me out of my self-pity when i felt my life was going no where...in that situation...the lesson was clear...our perceptions determine our responses...

and...most of the time...our perceptions...are...well...shall we say...skewed?

psalm 139 shows me a very real and right picture of God, of myself...and my circumstances...the words gave me hope when i needed something to hold on too...the picture i see is God wanting us to understand that you and i are special and going somewhere...if we open up to Him...

sometimes i get a little overwhelmed when i think of how God knows us...knows me...
He understands us...
God knows us so well that He knows every word we will say...
He knows how we think...
He knows our dreams...
He knows out motives...
He knows our fears...
He knows exactly how we will respond...
He knows why we respond...
He knows us infinitely better that we know ourselves...
He knows the private things we think about in regards to our relationships, our jobs, ourselves...
He knows our deepest frustrations...
He knows our self-doubts...
He knows every corner, every cranny, every secret, and every closet...
He fully understands us...

this is incredible to me...and at the same time...frightening...if God knows that much about me...my response is to run and hide...because there are those things i am not proud of...

but God...in his incredible love for me...and for you...He knows all the deepest things in you...but...the difference is...He doesn't take these things to use them against you...He lays His hand on our lives...and protects...

what an incredible picture of our Father...