1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
Reflection
Two things really struck me when reading this passage. In the New Living Translation it says in verse 1: “Oh Lord, you have examined my heart.” In verse 12 it says: “darkness is the same as light to you!”
I think it can be scary for people to know that God examines every thought, every feeling, every everything within us! It does feel daunting, but it also feels freeing because before I even think something God knows, so if God already knows, then I can just get it out and let God help me deal with it. Mostly we do that kind of stuff in private with God I think, but that’s also what therapists can help us with – they want to know those things we don’t share with others so that those things we think we are keeping in the dark don’t have the power over us as eventually or constantly we are processing, trying to hide them, and causing ourselves stress.
I have to admit – I am a bit afraid of the dark. I have always been. Our Dad built a shed on our property that had Zs as cross braces on the wooden doors and windows, so obviously it was always called the “Z” barn. It had a second floor that was designed as a hang out space and was big enough to sleep in so of course we had sleepovers, and we would roam the neighborhood at night. I was never very comfortable with this, but I did it to push myself and well, peer pressure.
I am still a bit afraid of the dark, but I can’t experience a sunrise on the beach unless I get up in the dark and go to the beach. I can’t see shooting stars, a comet, or the Milky Way unless I am in the dark. Sometimes the dark can lead us to some really amazing discoveries – both in the world and in ourselves.
Staying in the dark is not healthy for us as humans though. We need light for our physical and mental wellbeing. That is why when I read verse 12 it strikes me as odd that God sees no difference between light and dark. We can also look at it this way – God loves us as sinners and as saints. If not, God would not have taken such great lengths to redeem us. The Lord knows our hearts and loves us deeply and calls all of us to be in relationship with the Triune God. We as humans tend to classify our behaviors and people as sinners or saints – or people who are in the dark or of the light. But God just sees us as children – children of God, whom God loves more than anything else.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
Does it comfort you or freak you out when you think about the fact that God examines us and knows everything about everything we do, say, think, everywhere we go, who we are with, and on and on? Remember to give God all of you because God already knows and loves us with and through all of it.
Prayer: God, you know us better than we know ourselves. Help us to feel comforted that you do know everything about us, and you still call us to be in relationship with you, and you love us in all of our moments. Thank you so much for your love and patience with us. Amen.
