Never Alone

KEY VERSE: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” —Psalm 139:23, New International Version

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Psalm 139:1-14, 23, 24

DAVID WAS A man of great passion, who often approached God for both guidance and forgiveness. He realized that God was always with him, both when he was faithful and when he was not. In today’s lesson we see how David eventually came to realize that it was great news, indeed, that God was always with him.

God’s attributes can be referred to in terms of omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence; that is, God is all-knowing, always present, and all-powerful. For David, these divine qualities were proven in his experiences. Is God omniscient? Absolutely. God knew David’s thoughts before they were on his tongue. (vs. 4, NIV) Is God omnipresent? Yes, indeed. David found God everywhere, from the heavens even unto “hell [sheol].” (vs. 8) Is God omnipotent? No question about it. David knew that even the darkness could not hide him, because God makes the night as bright as day.—vss. 11,12, NIV

While we recognize these attributes of God, we may sometimes wish it were not so. Ever since Adam and Eve sought to hide from God while God was seeking them, mankind has experienced a ‘hide and seek’ relationship with God. We tend to seek God most during times of distress, and hide during times when we fall short of the divine standard. Who has never said in their heart, “I wish God was not watching me now.”

David realized this, and eventually understood what a blessing it was to have God present always. When he was found in his transgression, he never tired of telling how God found him and took him back. Jesus celebrated this same theme when he told of a shepherd finding a sheep that had been lost, and called the whole community to rejoice with him. (Luke 15:3-7) David realized that wherever he might try to flee from God, “even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”—Ps. 139:10, NIV

There is a good reason why God keeps us close. David said: “You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (vss. 13,14, NIV) God knew us before we knew ourselves, because he was involved in making us who we are!

When we envision God’s complete love for us and his continual presence in our lives, we come to the realization of the necessity of praying for his direction in all our daily affairs, as David states in our Key Verse. David knew that this omnipresent God was his only guarantee of freedom from evil. Though his presence, at times, might have seemed oppressive, David finally concluded that it was, instead, a constant source of blessing.

Because God knows us better than we know ourselves, David asked God to search him and test him. In so doing he may have had some evil ways revealed that he did not know he had, which could then be rooted out. This is much like David’s earlier plea, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults.”—Ps. 19:12

The beauty of this psalm is in knowing that we are never alone, and are cared for so deeply by our Heavenly Father! It should be one of our greatest comforts. Like David, we should not be frightened by God’s omnipresence in our lives, but thank him for his constant guidance. What a marvelous blessing!

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