Psalm 139:1-10
When I was younger, my parents sent me to a private Christian school in Staten Island. In the 6th grade, my teacher gave us an assignment that, to this day, still impacts my life. We were instructed to memorize the entire 139th chapter of the book of Psalms. This Psalm of David is a beautiful song depicting the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God. If it is all right with you, I would like to spend some time studying this Psalm. Today, I will be focusing on the first 10 verses.
A couple of months ago, I was having a pretty rough day. I couldn’t wait to get home to a nice home cooked meal, and hang out with my family. That’s the type of guy I am. Hanging out with my wife and kids at home is heaven for me, especially after experiencing a taxing day. As I pulled up into the driveway, I received a text from my wife. She explained that she was running late for an appointment with the kids, so I should heat up some of the leftovers that were in the refrigerator. “Leftovers...leftovers!!!”, I remember saying to myself. I felt like my day just went from bad to worse. It’s not that I hate “eating” leftovers. I just hate “looking” at leftovers before the magic of the microwave transforms it into something edible. Now I have to scrape food from a pot or container, and put that gooey mess of cold gravy and freeze-dried rice on a plate. Ughh! No thanks. I backed out of my driveway, and at that moment, I heard my wife’s voice in my head, “Remember Chris, we agreed that this month we were going to curb our financial spending.” I kissed my teeth, and said, “I’m going to Colony Diner!”
The plan was to go to Colony Diner, eat my food, pay cash (so that there is no paper trail), and get home before anybody else. I thought the plan was perfect. I love Colony Diner. I think it’s the best diner in the world. I ordered the steak tips and rice with a side of steamed veggies. It was delicious. As I was finishing my meal, I looked at my watch and noticed that it was getting late. “Time to go”, I said to myself. Right then and there, my phone rang. It was my daughter. “Hello daddy”. “Hey pumpkin. How are you doing?” I said, playing it real cool. “I’m fine” she replied. “Daddy, what are you doing?” her sweet little voice asked, even though I felt like I was being interrogated. What am I doing? Well, I can’t tell her that I am at Colony Diner, because my daughter WILL tell my wife. I can’t lie to her either. “Daddy’s eating his dinner”, I said. It was the perfect line. I was telling the truth, but I did not incriminate myself. There was a moment of a silence on the phone, and then she said, “What are you doing at Colony Diner?” I was in shock. I immediately looked around the diner wondering if they were here. Did my daughter have the gift of prophecy or word of knowledge? I didn’t know what to say. Then she said, “See you at home, daddy.” She hung up the phone. When I got home, my wife was in the kitchen, and with a smile on her face, she asked, “How was dinner?” I was busted. I totally forgot that at the beginning of the school year, we all agreed to activate the “Find Your Friends” feature on our phones. With this feature, we would know the location of our family members at any given time. My daughter was checking my location when she called me earlier, and they all knew that I was at Colony Diner. My plan was shot from the very beginning.
Sometimes, we forget that God has GPS tracking on all of us. His knowledge is not limited to our geographical location, but David, as he wrote this Psalm, expressed his fascination with God’s ability to even know and comprehend his own thoughts. In Psalm 139:3-4, he writes, “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.” It’s wonderful to know that God is intimately aware of who we are. He knows where we are physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. Our thoughts are an open book to Him. If you are experiencing a difficult season of
right now, know that God is fully aware of everything that you are experiencing. From struggling with sin, to dealing with heartbreak and loss, our Heavenly Father’s hand will guide you, and his right hand will hold and sustain you. Don’t run from the Lord during these times, run to the Lord. He will be waiting for you.
Now that’s Good Word!