Healing Rays of Righteousness

Read Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

In concluding my blog last week, I stated that many persons struggle with low self-esteem and worthlessness, largely because they never heard nor experienced God’s dignifying affirmation through the human beings that work, play, and worship with them.  I should have also said that most, if not all, of us do experience feelings of low self-esteem at certain times in our lives.

That’s why I recommend reading Psalm 139 frequently and listening closely to God speaking your name and telling you why and how he loves and cares for you every moment of every day.

This psalm is a prayer in which the psalmist, David, is astounded by how thoroughly and intimately the Lord knows him.  God’s presence with him at all times and in every circumstance is more than he can comprehend – but it gives him a grand sense of self-worth, inner security and comfort.

In this prayer, David declares the following dignity-filled truths about God’s relationship with us.

God knows me (v.1-4).  Yes, God is like a doctor giving us a physical exam; a psychiatrist exploring our inner selves; or an intimate friend who probes us until we reveal all.  As a result, God knows us thoroughly and completely – even our deepest and most secret thoughts and desires, both the good and bad.

He knows what we think about people.  He knows our motives as we engage in conversation with others. He knows the path we take through the day, each pause, and each detour.  When trouble comes, God knows!   When life is joyous and delightful, God knows!   There is nothing we do, say, or think that is hidden from God.

Although we might at times feel that God’s knowledge and involvement in our lives is a little too invasive, too uncomfortable, David finds it to be a joyous comfort and encouragement particularly during the difficult times in his life.

God surrounds me (v.5-6).  God not only knows our whereabouts and thoughts, He also protects us from harm.  Wherever we go, God is there surrounding us with protection, and abundantly providing for our needs.  Like a human father, God goes before us preparing our way and behind us guiding and encouraging us onward in our life journey.  He is always present in our personal moments with fatherly care and concern.

It is so mind-boggling for me to think that God would know me as He does, that God would be as involved in the specifics of my daily living as He is, that I say with David, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand.” (v.6). 

God created me (v.13-16).  David acknowledges that the God who knows him so intimately is also the God who wonderfully created and fashioned him in his mother’s womb and now lovingly cares for him.  He knows us the way a painter knows his picture, or a sculptor knows his statue.  He remembers each little detail of his work in shaping us into the special person we are – a unique image of himself.

This amazing truth really comforts and encourages me; because it affirms and reassures me we are not an accident of nature or evolution.  We are not a mistake in God’s great scheme of things.  There is a holy, grandiose reason and purpose created into each one us. Our life, our soul, our human self is filled with the very breath of Almighty God.  With David we say, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

God thinks about me (v.17-18).  Not only does God think about us as he is forming us in our mother’s womb, he also is thinking about us as we are being shaped and fashioned beyond the womb. Moment by moment, day after day, we are in his thoughts as he watches over us.  David says that his thoughts of us outnumber the sand itself – impossible to count.

As amazing as it is – as unlikely or even as impossible as it might seem – imagine this; you and me are known by and in relationship with the Holy, Almighty God, high and lifted up, who is completely beyond our understanding, our thinking – and yet comes down to care, provide and lead us individually as his treasured, unique, and special creation – his own beloved child.

David concludes is prayer of praise with, “When I awake, I am still with you.”   David takes comfort in being able to rely on God’s safekeeping – falling asleep in the presence of God and waking up in the presence of God.  And so can we.

In her book of meditations on the Psalms, “I’m Lonely, Lord – HOW LONG?” Marva J. Dawn concludes her meditation on this psalm with these words.  “Truly this picture of ourselves, marvelously designed, made with his tender care, should fill us with dignity and self-worth.  We don’t have to win God’s approval; we had it even before we were born.  We don’t have to prove our worth; he wove it together.  We don’t have to impress him with our goodness; he just wants to show us his.” (p.156).

 I wholeheartedly agree.  I leave you with this question to ponder, “What do you think God was thinking on the day you were created?  What beautiful and attractive things, what grand and perfect things, was God thinking and planning for you while He was putting you together in your mother’s womb – and what is he thinking about you even now as he continues to shape you by the experiences of the past week and year?