The Book of Psalms (30-Day Journey)ਨਮੂਨਾ

The Benefits of Intimacy

Psalm 139 is one of the more well-known psalms. Worship songs have used these words generation after generation because they beautifully describe God’s nearness and intimacy with us. Some of the lines are difficult to believe, yet they’re true. “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” (Psalm 139:2-3 NIV) How different would we act if we continually remembered that God knows when you sit and when you rise? And what you are thinking at all times.

He knew you when you were formless. He knew you in the womb. He even perceives your thoughts. Perhaps a normal response would be shame. Maybe a thought pops up such as, 'oh no I really don’t want God to know what I was just thinking'. Because of Jesus, there doesn't have to be shame in our thoughts. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV)

God knows us so intimately, yet He still loves us. So before you feel shame for the extra cookie He saw you eat last night, first understand the benefits of His nearness. Nothing surprises God or catches him off guard. He’s a good father. He knows all, yet he still loves us. This type of kindness is what leads us to repentance and back into rightness with him.

Choose to celebrate His nearness instead of dreading it. The Creator of the world is aware of you. This is a good thing. He remains close in order to protect, to counsel, to whisper comfort, and so much more. He knows what you need even when you don’t. What a gift! The more we trust that God is for us, the more we will respond to His intimacy. Look at these wise words of the Psalmist. “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV). Here we see a son actually requesting that his sins be revealed. Why? Because he knows the forgiver, he also knows the freedom that awaits on the other side of restoration.

How much richer are the lives of those who feel peace because God is near? Imagine the freedom of saying, God, you just heard that thought, forgive me and make me clean. Because God knows us intimately, we can talk with Him more intimately, and it is through this intimacy that we can experience true freedom. That is something very good and worthy of praise!