O LORD, you have searched me 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 know it completely, O LORD. 5 You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Is the knowledge that someone is watching us good or is it bad? Do we consider having someone know our thoughts as good or bad? How do we feel about having someone so familiar with our routines they can successfully predict what we will do before it is done? I suppose the answer to these questions is determined by what we think and how we conduct ourselves. My five year old grandson often wants me to stay close by and watch what he is doing. He wants the assurance that he is safe, that he is being noticed and that someone cares about him. If our lives are committed to serving God, then this knowledge is indeed too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. When our hearts are right and we are trying to please God but we fail and give in to some temptation, what a blessing to know that he knows not only our action (bad – sin) but he also knows our motive (faith – pleasing him). John describes this Godward attitude as “walking in the light” and says that with it God continues to forgive us all our sin. This means that God knows our weaknesses as well as our strengths. It is this knowledge that enables him to never allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear and with each temptation provide the way of escape. As a parent (or grandparent) of a toddler learning to walk we anticipate when they are about to fall and with outstretched arms we are ready to catch them before they hit the floor. I have been helping my grandson learn to ride his bicycle. With every mistake and every “bobble” I hold him up and steady his ride. He knows this and realizes that he is totally dependent on me for his well being. As we learn to walk in Jesus Christ, he, our Father and the blessed Spirit are there, with outstretched arms and strong hands to steady us, to catch us and correct every “bobble” in our lives. Praise Him!

O God, divine Father, giver of life, I thank you and praise you for the knowledge that you are always present. I thank you that you know my thoughts before I know them and my words before they enter my lips. I praise you for your wonderful care for me and the protection you give. Most of all I thank you and praise you for the forgiveness you have given, and continue to give thru the blood of your Son, Jesus Christ. Please fill me with your Spirit so I may become more like you in all things. In Jesus name.

May God bless each of us as we depend on him in all things.