Elise Pelot
Psalm 139
Updated: Dec 10, 2020
Back in the early days of quarantine, specifically March, April, and May, I poured over my Bible. I couldn't get enough of God's Word. It encouraged me when nothing else or no one else could. During my deep dive, I encountered Psalm 139 in the Passion Translation (go look it up right now!). This Psalm was one of the first Bible verses I memorized as a young girl but it had never hit me the way this translation did; it was more personal this time when I read it.
How sweet it is to be known by God. The same God who created the Heavens, every single star, every kind of animal, and so much more. He can do anything and everything, and He chooses to love you, to be aware of you, and to follow you wherever you go. There is nothing we can say to change His mind about us. There is nowhere we can go that He won't already be.
One of my favorite verses from this passage is verse 3: "You are so intimately aware of me, Lord". The word "intimately" here is a gentle reminder that God knows every single detail about each one of us. There is nothing He is unaware of or has forgotten about. The way we so desperately long for someone to know us is exactly how God knows us. Our Father is our best companion because He knows it all and still chooses to love us. There will be people in this world that will learn things about you that turn them off from you, but our God does not operate that way. He stays when no one else will and He will love you more than anyone ever could.
The final few verses of the Psalm ask God to examine the heart and sift through the anxieties. I love this because our heart's ought to be pointed to Jesus. If they aren't, we need to undergo some major surgery. As a follower of Christ, we should want to honor God with our lives and part of that means allowing Him to search our hearts and make us aware of the parts that are unclean so we can work on fixing them. This verse is a great reminder to keep ourselves in check. We are not without sin, but we do have a God who can wash that away if we repent and change our habits.
This Psalm is so humbling. God loves us each so dearly and will never leave us. We are safe in His arms; nothing can harm us when we are in His presence. Continue to seek Him, friend, and remember just how cared for you are by the Creator of heaven and earth.
