known

Opening Prayer: You have searched me, Lord, 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, 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. (Psalm 139:1-6, NIV)

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-24

Journal: What does this Psalm stir up within you?  What does it tell you about God?  What does it tell you about yourself?  How does it encourage you to live differently today?

Reflection: O Father, you know me inside and out.  I can’t hide anything from you.  You know my thoughts and you know my fears.  You know my insecurities and you know my anxieties.  You are utterly familiar with all my dysfunctional ways.  And yet, for some unknown reason, you still love me with a passion and an affection that I can never fully understand.  It is simply too much for me to comprehend.  You love me so fully and so completely that even my darkness is not dark to you.  For you dreamt me into being and breathed your breath of life into the depths of my soul.  Before the foundations of the world were laid, I was a beautiful thought in your mind; a thought that brought a huge smile to your face and great joy to your heart.  I am your work of art, your masterpiece.  I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

     Your thoughts of me outnumber the sand.  You think of me every second of every day; you can’t get me off of your mind.  You long to take me into your great heart of love again and again and again, constantly reminding me of the delight you take in me.  You desperately want me to know the height and depth and breadth of your unfailing love, so that I will always know myself as you know me—as your very own.  I am your beloved!  Help me to live that way.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: 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 everlasting. Amen. (Psalm 139:23-24, NIV)