He Already Knows

Do you remember, as a child, running away from home? Or maybe hiding your head under your pillow or sheets? Or hiding in your closet or some other place? What might one be hoping to accomplish with one of these activities? Escape from punishment? Avoiding reality?

Another possible example of this is a desire to withdraw and not share much of who we are. There are several possibilities of reasons for this. One may be simply an introverted outlook on life. Another might be a more guarded, suspicious outlook on life. And other may be an attempt to hide our true selves for fear people may not like us or may even reject us if they know who we truly are.

A light-hearted (albeit threatening!) example of this comes from a familiar Christmas song about Santa Claus: “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows when you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!"

We sometimes may have these feelings toward God. Even if we believe in Him, at times we might want to distance ourselves. The first and greatest example of this is Adam and Eve. When they committed their first sin, their first reaction was to hide from God (as if they could!). When we feel bad about sin or unacceptable behavior, we have a tendency to avoid God, too. We really don’t want to talk with Him about it and may not even be ready to take responsibility for our actions.

Consider this news, which may be unsettling for you, but hopefully you will also see it as good news:  God Already Knows. He knows everything about you. He knows things about you that no one else does. He even knows you better than you know yourself. Consider these words of truth from Psalm 139:
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;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.  (Psalm 139:1-6, 14)

This is such good news! “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.” God knows all about you. But more importantly, He totally and fully loves you! He also knows the bad thoughts, the sins of your past and present and He still loves you! He doesn’t keep a list (like Santa Claus) but He doesn’t overlook them. Instead, He has provided a way to remove these stumbling stones in your life as has cleared the way for an honest, true, upfront relationship for you with Him. It’s through Jesus. The gospel of John declares that Jesus “did not come into the world to condemn the world but rather to save the world through Him.” John 3:17