My grandmother lived through the depression and that made an
impact on her all of her life. Even
after she had become a doctor and finances were not really an issue she still
saved and kept everything. One of my
favorite things to do when I visited grandma was to sneak away into some of the
rooms and look through the drawers and closets.
I would spend hours sorting and looking
and wondering at all the stuff. Much of it was
new and still in boxes. One time as I
was exploring I came across a beautiful pocket watch. Without thinking too much about it and
without asking I stuck the watch in my pocket and took it home. I had the watch
but I never showed it to anyone because they might ask where I got it. After a number of years being hidden away I
lost it. Years went by, and I seldom thought about it. But then when I was 19 years old I went into
missionary training and then on to Ecuador to serve for a couple of years. During this time God was doing a serious work
in my heart. I remembered the watch and
was overcome with guilt. I tried to
ignore it. After all nobody knew what I
had done there was no way that anyone would ever find out. Yet the quiet inner voice of God kept on speaking
to me in my conscience and would NOT let me rest. Finally I wrote grandma a
letter telling her what I had done and asking her forgiveness. She wrote back a gracious letter telling me she
forgave me. She went on to say that the pocket watch did not matter but a clean
conscience did. The fact that God knows everything and is everywhere present is
both terrifying and comforting.
Let’s look at some verses from Psalm 139.
Psalm 139:1-4 (NLT)
O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. [2] You
know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even
when I’m far away. ...[4] You know
what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
David tells us that God
knows everything we DO as well as everything we THINK. We are reminded that God knows every single WORD we say BEFORE we even say it. That is the TERRIFYING part of this. When I sin in
thoughts, words, or actions I am sinning in God’s presence. He knows about it. I cannot hide my sin from
Him. God KNOWS all things and we cannot hide anything from Him.
Psalm 139:5-6 (NLT) You go before me and follow
me. You place your hand of blessing
on my head. [6] Such knowledge is too
wonderful for me, too great for me
to understand.
God has all knowledge and He is present everywhere. So these words can be a comfort to us. I believe that the Lord is
saying I will go in front of you leading
and guiding you. And I will also go
behind you protecting you and
keeping you safe. Further comfort is found in the imagery of God placing His
hand of blessing on our heads. That God
would care for us even when He knows where we have been and what we have done
it absolutely remarkable. Yet God extends
His Mercy and Grace to us even though He
knows how sinful our motives and actions really are.
PRAYER: Lord God thank You
for Your quiet voice of conscience.
Thank You for the guilt that you bring when we have sinned. Lord God thank You for the Comfort of Your
Mercy and Grace. Thank You for the
Comfort of Your presence even when we wander away from You. Thank You that Jesus came to Save NOT to Condemn
us.
