“You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me. 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. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.“
Psalm 139:1-4 (NIV)
This scripture is comforting to realize God knows all of our thoughts before we speak. I have an example of this to share, although I hope I’m not boring people with repeated stories about the Nursing Facility or my son’s progress.
Yesterday, as I usually do, at each visit, I was talking to Jon, trying to elicit a response from him, when he surprisingly took hold of my hand and then put it on his head, where his skull bone is missing. It was as if he was trying to ask me why his head was so misshapen.
I told him what happened to him, that he had a motorcycle accident and a skull fracture, followed by brain surgery, a few months ago. I also told him that his skull bone would be replaced in a few months. He seemed to slightly nod his head yes, as if he understood me.
That was an amazing moment, because it revealed that Jon has a thought process and is wondering about his condition. He was always touching his head and I assumed he had a headache. Now I realize he was feeling his skull and curious about the huge dent on the left side. When he purposely put my hand on his head, he was asking me what happened, and for the first time I think he understood what I said.
The psalm today is about how God perceives every one of our thoughts from afar. It doesn’t matter what our medical condition is, even without a single word spoken, the Lord knows our thoughts completely. Yesterday, the Lord let me know one of Jon’s thoughts.
God wants to be in an intimate relationship with each one of us, every day, not just when we have problems. When we are worrying, He reads our thoughts anyway, so why not share everything with Him? Each time I would leave after visiting Jon, I would say to God, “If only he could communicate..” and yesterday he did, not in words but by a gesture.
I was more aware of God knowing my thoughts as well as communicating Jon’s thoughts to me. When we realize how God is reading our daily thoughts, it reminds us that He wants intimacy with all of us. Jesus never called us to an ordinary relationship with Him. To be in a relationship with Jesus, it must be an extraordinary one.
There is nothing ordinary about Jesus or what He taught. He told us to speak to mountains and they will move. He told us not to worry about our material needs, but to seek first God’s kingdom. These are all extraordinary teachings.
He also said it’s not enough to love only those who love us, since that is ordinary. He taught us to love our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us, which is completely extraordinary. If we are asked to go a mile for someone, we are to go two.
If someone strikes us on the face, He said to offer them our other cheek. His teachings are not ordinary, but crazy extraordinary.
If we are to live this extraordinary life, it needs to be done with daily intimacy and a personal relationship with Jesus, who taught all these things in the first place. We can do nothing without abiding in Him. This kind of intimacy starts by knowing that He is already reading our thoughts from afar.
If we live knowing God is reading our thoughts, then we are living in His presence. To live in His presence, is to live in intimacy with Jesus. The Christian life was never meant to be ordinary. Jesus did an extraordinary sacrifice for us, He taught many extraordinary lessons and now He calls us to extraordinary living.
Lord, thank you for wanting to keep us close and to live in intimacy with you every day. As you read our daily thoughts, we pray you will share your thoughts with us and always direct our paths. Amen