Thou Knowest

"O Lord thou hast....known me.
Thou knowest...
Thou understandest...
Thou compassest my path...
Thou hast best me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me." Ps. 139:1-5

What comfort we can take from this thought. God has known us in the past when life seemed unruffled. He knows us still amidst the changes of life. He understands. He guides our path. He surrounds and protects us with His hand.

As I was thinking on the vast knowledge of God I was drawn to the book of Job.--To be honest, the book of Job has always been a confusing book to me. You never know when Job's friends are speaking the truth as God sees it or wrapping up the truth of God in their wrong opinions. I turned to chapter 38-41 where God is speaking. I knew that I could rest on the words of God.

In these chapters, God declares Himself the Creator of the universe. His knowledge is presented to us in questions. He cares about and is involved in every intricate detail of creation. He is in charge of the forming of rain and snow, He created the beauty of the sunrise, directs the movements of the constellation, and He attends to every aspect of nature. The animals, as well, have the assurance that God Himself is their Creator and He is the One that cares for them.

By the beginning of Chapter 42 Job realizes that the wisdom of God is far above his own. We can never expect to know all that God knows. That includes the plans God has for our future and the "whys" of the trials we face. In verse 2 Job states, "I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be witholden from thee." The first part of the verse is self explanatory. God can do anything. After studying the latter portion I found that it means, that no purpose of God can be withheld or stopped.

This same God is the One that knows us. He has a plan and a purpose for each of us. We need to let God be God. Let him have complete control in the guidance of our lives. He'll direct our lives, care for our woes and protect us from danger. If He directs all the intricate details of nature so perfectly, isn't He big enough and wise enough to plan each detail of our lives? He has a plan that may be hidden from our eyes, but we can trust His heart to fit all the raveled ends of our life into a beautiful design. I rest my heart and life in the hands of my all-knowing God.

Another cool thought that can tie into this subject of the knowledge of God is found in Psalm 8:4 "What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man that thou visitest him?" When we put God and man beside each other there is just no comparison. God is so high above us, yet God pays attention to and cares for us. That is what the word "visitest" means. Isn't our God wonderful?