All Over You

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 afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
     and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
     behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
     and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
     it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
     If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
     and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
     and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, 
     and the light about me be night,"
even the darkness is not dark to you; 
     the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts; 
     you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, 
     when I was being made in secret, intricately woven
     in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
     the days that were formed for me,
     when as yet there were none of them.
{Psalm 139:1-16}

A lot of people go to Psalm 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want") when they are upset or scared. I go to Psalm 139.

When I'm having out-of-control emotions or worries, it's usually because I've forgotten who I am  and how God sees me. Psalm 139 reverberates with the reassurance of my identity and the anchor of God's love for me. My favorite name for God is "El Roi"--"the God who sees me." I take great comfort in simply knowing that He not only knows me, He knows who He created me to be--no matter if I forget.

Sometimes, we feel paralyzingly condemned by the sins of our past. Sometimes, we feel overwhelmed by the burden of our futures. But it's important to remember the consistency of God. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

That's one of the things I love about Jesus. He went to the cross, and He hasn't changed His mind about it.

In order to rescue us and bring us into relationship with Him, God sent the one thing that was most precious to Him--His Son--as a sacrifice to buy us (1 Corinthians 7:23). That's how much we are worth to Him: He couldn't just throw down any old bull or goat.  

When we get worried about our pasts or our futures (both of which have tried very hard to claim me this week), we need to remember that God wouldn't sacrifice something so precious to get us, then throw us aside. "Ok, kids, I've bought you out of hell. Now you're on your own. Hope you can hide from the devil until I return for you. Good luck!"

Why would anyone do that?

We're like kids climbing a tree, scared to take another step up, unaware that Dad has been standing below us the entire time to catch us if we fall. In fact, Dad even created the tree. Our security in Him is so strong and so unshakable, yet we are inconsistent in our ability to understand that.

Good thing He's consistent. He "hems us in behind and before." He knows what we're going to say before we say it, what we're going to think before we think it. He wrote your story before you were born.

He surrounds you and swaddles you around like a baby blanket and guards you on all sides like powerful armor. He is all OVER you. I mean, ALL OVER YOU, child! And if you know what goodness, what care, what everlasting love is in the heart of a Father, that thought should be your comfort and confidence.

Sometimes, when I get worried, I imagine Him laughing and saying, "If only you knew, silly girl!"

He will never change His mind about you.