Create a peaceful space to pause, and allow yourself to feel God’s presence alongside you, as near to you as your own breath. In following the reflection below, as a church we will draw closer to God and to one another as we grow in faith and deepen our sense of belonging to God.
Psalm 139 ‘The Inescapable God’
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.7 Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night’,
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
This is a beautiful statement of David from wonderful Psalm 139:7. God’s knowledge of our heart, mind, thoughts and actions, his care and protection and his presence, is expressed beautifully and radically in Psalm 139. This is one of my favourite Psalms.
Psalms are translated in Punjabi language known as Zaboor by Dr. Imam-ud-Din, who was a Punjabi evangelist and a poet. He also composed the different tunes which are very melodious and all around the world these are very well sung by the people who speak Punjabi language (including all Pakistani Christians).
It is amazing that God knows absolutely everything about each one of us. When we read/see the sign of CCTV camera, we are trying to behave appropriately. But just imagine that God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. It might cause us to feel either threatened or comforted. The best response we can learn from David is, “Lead me in the way everlasting.” It is very profitable for us to be led by the one who knows all and present everywhere. The writer of Hebrews know this too: ‘And there is no creature hidden from his sight.’ (Hebrews 4:13). He knows our motives, desires, and even words before they are expressed. We need to remember the phrase, ‘Think before you speak’.
There is no place where we can be separated from God’s presence. There is nowhere David could go. God is everywhere. It means that we are always being checked by God. When I was in my mother’s womb you knew all about me. God knows and care for the children in the womb. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God knows our past, present and future. We don’t know when this situation will be fine but we need to remember that He is with us in this uncertain time.
Prayer:
We say with David together:
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.
Amen.
Reflection © 2020 Memona Shahbaz.
Image freely available online.
A printable version of this Daily Devotional can be downloaded from here
All material within this order of worship is reproduced by permission under CCL 1226356