David penned a great psalm that details God's pursuit of man. The first four verses of Psalm 139 reveal that God knows us very deeply. He knows us better than we know ourselves. "O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether" (Psalm 139:1-4).
The Lord searches your heart because His desire is to know you intimately. He watches your every move. Even your thoughts are not hidden from Him, and He hears every word you speak. That should make you fully aware of the things you say and do. Knowing that God is watching should make you strive to be holy. Knowing that God is listening should make you watch what you say and how you say it.
The Lord is there for you every day. "You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me" (v. 5). His hand is on your shoulder to guide and direct you. He has "hedged" you in on all sides. He has put up a barrier between you and the enemy to keep you safe. You can trust Him, walk with Him, and depend on Him. He will see you through every trial, hardship, and challenge that life brings. What an amazing truth!
But David acknowledges that even this can be a hard concept to grasp. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it," he wrote (v. 6). It is in times like this, times when we cannot quite wrap our minds around such truth, that we want to cut and run. But before you do, before you run from God and try to hide from Him, consider the rest of this psalm.
In verse seven David asks the question, "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?" And he answers his own question: "Nowhere." He writes: "If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall fall on me,' even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You" (vv. 8-12). There is nowhere to hide. Wherever you go, God will find you. He will pursue you until you come to Him. He made you and He wants the best for you.
Psalm 139 continues, "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well" (vv. 13-14).
The Lord established your days. He determined who you are and what you would do for Him, even before you were born: "My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them" (vv. 15-16).
God made and established you. He loves you and wants to fellowship with you. That is why He pursues you as He does. You are always on His mind. "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You" (vv. 17-18). Every morning when you awake, God is there. He is with you as He promised. "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'" (Heb. 13:5b).
Because God made you, because He loves you and seeks after you, you should have only one response—to seek after Him and to follow Him! You should flee from your enemies and be separate from them. Turn them over to God and let Him deal with the wicked. But as for you, have nothing to do with them.
Again in Psalm 139, David said it well: "Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men. For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies" (vv. 19-22).
Then David prayed, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting" (vv. 23-24). The same prayer should be on our lips! Knowing that God pursues us, knowing that He loves us, knowing that He will always be there for us watching over us, we too should ask God to search our hearts and cleanse us from anything that does not belong. We should seek God's face every day and trust Him to lead us in the way we should go, the way of righteousness, the way of Christ Jesus. Amen.
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