Let Me Not Wander

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. (ESV) This verse was of great comfort to me this week. I was thinking about the first part of this passage with the conviction that comes with God being everywhere, and knowing all things about me, then I came to this verse. He knows me, He knows who I am and what kind of evils I am capable of, yet He still hems me in. He still lays His hand on me. Realizing that God knows everything, I mean really realizing that truth can be of some distress, unless you realize that His knowledge is always tempered with His grace.

Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O  Lord , you know it altogether. (ESV) Is this statement about more than God's foreknowledge?  Isn't it possible that God knows our words, not just because He knows the future, but because He knows us ?  Could it be that He knows our words before they leave the brain, travel down those neural pathways, and land on our tongue because He has intimate knowledge of us?

You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. (ESV) How is your theology? Maybe when you were a kid you could state that, "God is omnipresent... God is omnipotent... God is omniscient..." You knew those omnis, but did you really believe them? Do you really believe that God is everywhere? Do you really believe that He knows all things? Do you really believe that he searches out your path and where you lie down? Do you believe that He is acquainted with all your ways? If you believe these things, how would it change your life? What about what you watch on TV? Would it affect the places that you frequent on the internet? What about the places on the internet that you stumble upon? Would your easy-listening music change stations? How is your theology affecting your life?

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. (ESV) God has intimate knowledge of us. He has knowledge of what is going on in our hearts and in our thoughts. But He also has knowledge of the more mundane elements of life. He knows when you stand up and when you sit down. If God is aware of such small details, then He is aware of you.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! (ESV) Aren't you glad that you serve a God that knows you. We don't need to have a "Get to know you" day with God... He knows us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We still need to get to know Him, but He is ready to reveal himself to any of his followers.

The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (NIV) If we were to understand the Fear of the Lord as something that is played out in life.  Not as simply an emotional response or a passing thought, but as the emotions and thoughts manifesting themselves in action. (Similar to coming across a bear in a forest.  I wouldn't simply pull up some knowledge about bears in my mind, and I wouldn't just let that knowledge cause my heart to beat faster, I would most likely run, if the bear wasn't too close, and I thought I could make it someplace safe. Or what about seeing the great pyramids for the first time.  I wouldn't be satisfied with a simple mental snapshot of the pyramids and I wouldn't stop at being awed, I would go up and touch it and see if I could go inside and explore or climb it.) True fear and reverence manifests itself in action.  The same is true with the fear of the Lord.  If you have the true fear of t...