Psalm 139 (Message)
I'm an open book to You, even from a distance You know what I'm thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back. I'm never out of Your sight. You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and You're there. Then up ahead, and You're there too. Your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful----I Can't take it all in.
It is so easy to read the verses above and come away with two different meanings.
It all begins with the way we perceive God. How we think about Him. What He is really like. It all is played out when we read Scripture.
I was talking with a young man some years back, when he made the statement that "God was out to get him." I asked why he thought such a thing. His reply was, "I've never been able to be good. I've never done the right things or acted in a way I should have. God is just tired of me and is out to get me." Curious about statement, I asked him, "So why don't you change?"
He slowly added....."I can't. I'm too bad. Since I know this about myself, and God is out to get me...I figure I might as well be as bad as I can and enjoy myself while I'm still alive."
To that young man, the verses in Psalm 139 were not a comfort, but a terrible indictment of God's wrath and anger against him. Where could he go? No where because God was there, waiting at every turn to trip him up.
To me, those verses are a great comfort just knowing that I cannot escape God at all. Why? Because He loves me so much He looks out for me to guide me and show me the right way to live. Truth be known, God was also as loving toward the young man who thought God had marked him to be whacked.Usually such whacking comes because of our rebellion and disobedience. Even with any circumstances that we may bring on ourselves, we always lay it at the feet of God and proclaim, "God is out to get me". Well, yes!!! God is out to get you. To get you. To love you. To save you, and about a million other divine things to draw you into a loving relationship with Him. How cool is that? Cool x 10, that's how much.
I like how David ends Psalm 139: Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me. Cross examine and test me. Get a clear picture of what I'm about. See for Yourself whether I've done anything wrong, then guide me on the road to eternal life.
This would be a great day for us to stop and take a look at how we view God. To make sure that our understanding hasn't been colored or tainted by some incident or situation we found ourselves in. To make sure that we haven't been listening to the voice of the devil, instead of the voice of God's Holy Spirit. You know why? Because God's voice is a voice of love.
God on you.....
mb
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