Listen

Lord, you have examined me. You know me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up. Even from far away, you comprehend my plans. You study my traveling and resting. You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways. There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord, that you don’t already know completely. You surround me—front and back. You put your hand on me. That kind of knowledge is too much for me; it’s so high above me that I can’t reach it.

Psalm 139:1-6

Think

Of all the people in your circle, who knows you the best? Your parents? Another family member? Best friend? Significant other? One of my cousins is the closest thing that I have to a sister. When we talk on the phone, we share our memories of our crazy antics like putting on a variety show for our grandparents when we were kids. In later years, we were bridesmaids in each other’s weddings. We can look at the other and start telling a story that the other one can finish. We know each other well: the good, the bad, and the ugly!

God knows us better than anyone, but not in a claustrophobic way. Rather, in a comforting way, God is aware of what we think even before we voice our thoughts and which direction we will go even before we move. All of our plans have already been considered by God. Whatever we do, God cocoons us within a loving and steady embrace.

Gayle Taylor

Question to Ponder:

How might your reactions to people and events change when you remember that God knows your thoughts and actions before you voice them or act upon them?

Pray

God, help me to remember that I belong to you. Because you know me and love me, I want to reciprocate that love by using gentle words and kind actions toward others. Even when I hold tough thoughts, you know them, and I ask that you re-direct them. Today I’m struggling with my attitude as I think about…

Amen.

Go

Take with you a word of encouragement,

walking confidently into your day.

Remember that the Lord is as close as the touch of a hand,

protecting you, a precious vessel of clay.