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Psalm 139:1-4 (NKJV)
1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.
In the above scriptures we see David expressing how much God knew about him. How God knew his ways, even those day-to-day things that may seem insignificant.
David was also revealing how God’s knowledge of him went far deeper than what others around him could know or see. How God knew David’s thoughts and the motives behind them. How God knew David’s words, even before they were spoken.
Just as God had perfect knowledge about David, God also has perfect knowledge about us.
For example, Psalm 44:20-21 (NIV) tells us: If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart? And Psalm 94:11 (NIV) states: The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.
We cannot hide anything from God, as we could do with others. For God knows the secrets of our heart (Psalm 44:21). We cannot fool, deceive, or mislead God, as we could do with others. For God knows all our plans (Psalm 94:11).
Romans 12:2 (NIV) states: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
As believers, we must come to an awareness that God knows all our ways, our behaviors, our inclinations, our affections, just to name a few. This means that God knows areas of our lives that are still being shaped by the world. All of these areas must be changed. For this to happen, our minds need to be renewed.
Renewing our mind, according to Romans 12:2, is not something we can do on our own. We need to spend time praying, and reading and meditating on scriptures. We need to spend time being quiet before God. And we need the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.
John 16:13 (NIV) states: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
The Holy Spirit can teach us what we do not know. He can teach us about God’s character and ways. He can teach us what it is to be Christ-like. But we must be willing to be led by the Holy Spirit.
By allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us, we will learn to love God so much that we no longer want to pattern our lives after the world. Where our ways and behaviors change because we consider God in all we do. Where we find joy in living according to God’s Word.
By allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us, we will learn to love God so much that all our affections – our feelings and emotions – are for God. Where everything within us desires to do God’s Will, no matter the cost.
Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV) states: Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Except where indicated, scripture references are from the American Standard Version (ASV), Darby Translation (DARBY), or King James Version (KJV) – all public domain.
