Known

Do you remember, as a child, running away from home? Where did you go? In your closet or some other place at home? Or perhaps down the street? Did your parents or siblings know you were going to leave or were they caught by surprise? It’s hard to say what may have motivated an escape like that, but it probably wasn’t something too serious or lasted too long. Parents have a way of welcoming and re-transitioning in those circumstances!

There may be times in our young adult or adult years when we have a sense that we want to run away from a situation or from a particular person or persons. It may be directly, like removing yourself from a conversation, or gravitating to the corner of a room during a gathering. Or it may be more subtle. Another way to remove yourself, or escape, is to withhold information about ourselves. Have you done that? It may be from friends, family, spouses, co-workers, bosses, neighbors, or church members.
Why would we want to do this? Here are possible options:

• I don’t like this person enough to allow them to know me.            
• I want to keep our relationship at a distance.
• I may feel too vulnerable to share too much personal information (and this could legitimately be a safety concern).
• If I keep them in the dark, I feel like I have greater control of the situation.
• That person thinks I’m a great person and I don’t want them to know the true me.
•  I don’t want to feel vulnerable.

It is good and advisable to establish healthy boundaries in our relationships, but it is possible to set the boundary so tight that we isolate ourselves. Is that what you really want?

Now, apply your thinking here to your relationship with God. Look at the bullets above. Do you use any of them in your connection with God? Why is that? We read in Psalm 139 what may be good news, bad news, or just scary news! The condensed message is: God knows everything about you. Everything. That’s just the way it is. The writer says, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain (verses 1-6).

The writer continues that even if he wants to hide, he couldn’t because God is everywhere! As you read this it might bring you comfort, or it might bring fear, or both. We sometimes might feel ashamed when we realize that God knows our every thought and action. It might be puzzling to realize that He could know me totally and still care about me. Or it can bring comfort to know that God is with me in the scary places or when I feel so alone and isolated. He’s there.
The good news is that God loves you, no matter what. He knows everything about you, and He loves you. He loves you in your doubts, your shortcomings, and even in your darkest thoughts. And He extends His love to you and wants to be in relationship with you. He’s already made that possible through Christ.

It is a blessing to be totally known by God. Nothing hidden; just open to Him and honest with Him. There is freedom in this. As we grow in confidence in this truth, we can be more confident in sharing our true selves with those around us.

"The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:5b-7).”

This song “Waymaker” performed by Leeland and written by Osinachi Kalu Okoro Egbu beautifully illustrates God’s love and acceptance.