Day 2: Being Known

Begin

Quiet your heart and ask God to take all your worries and distractions, trusting him to teach and encourage you through his Word. Pray and ask him to open your eyes to the lessons he has for you today!

Read: Psalm 139

Reflect

It isn’t easy to be known, even by those closest to us. But Scripture tells us that every person is perfectly known to God. Psalm 139 is a reminder that we can embrace this truth as we seek to know and love those around us.

Even David, who was called a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), wrestled with God’s complete knowledge of our thoughts, desires, and intentions. Scripture tells us that nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight (Hebrews 4:13). The shepherd-turned-king experienced this reality in his unsuccessful efforts to hide his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. Yet Psalm 139, which is attributed to David, doesn’t focus on the terror or condemnation of being fully known by a holy God. Instead, it connects God’s knowledge to his deep, abiding love for us as our Creator.

The language used to describe God calls to mind a gentle protector who surrounds us and holds us. He is not a cold observer of our lives. He cares about the struggles we face—and he has the power to deliver us from our troubles.

In addition to knowing us completely, God is also a constant presence in our lives. As Psalm 139 acknowledges, there is nowhere we can go to hide from God, and there is no path we will walk without him. Even our most faithful friends can’t endure each moment of suffering with us. But in our hardest times and darkest valleys, this psalm helps us remember that God is with us and understands our pain. He cares for us uniquely as the Creator who formed us and gave us life.

As we read yesterday, our identity as beloved children of God is found in Christ. But think about what that means! If our identity is in Christ, we are free from the fear that we must be perfect to earn God’s love. We can bring all our burdens to God, knowing that he is already aware of everything in our hearts. Not even our most harrowing secrets or deepest fears can separate us from him.

This wonderful truth empowers us to join David at the end of this psalm in eagerly inviting God to search us, know us, and lead us forward. As we invite God to know us, we grow to better know him as our Good Shepherd (John 10:14–15). When we understand that God knows and loves us, we can trust him to guide us in his will and give us true peace.

Tomorrow, we’ll learn how we can reflect God’s love for us as we seek to know and be known by others. His faithfulness, love, and encouragement are all traits that we can seek to cultivate in our lives as we live out our identity in Christ.

Consider

• Read Psalm 139 again. Which aspects of God’s knowledge of your heart and God’s presence in your life are most encouraging to you today?
• How can the truth that you are fully known and fully loved by God shape your identity?
• How can Psalm 139 and the reality that God knows you completely guide your prayer life? Consider how you can echo this psalm’s invitation for God to search and know you in your prayers today. Pray and ask God to help you know him better through this time in his Word.

Meditate

Spend a few moments reading and considering how this Scripture relates to the other truths you encountered today. What connections can you make?

“Whoever loves God is known by God.”

1 Corinthians 8:3 GNT