Think for a moment about every relationship you have. Your parents, siblings, extended family, spouse, children, friends … who in this group would you say knows you the best? If you have a good relationship with your parents, you may have said one of them. If you are blessed by a good marriage, perhaps you named your spouse. For some of us, it’s a sibling who has known us all our lives. I took a walk with an old friend last week and told her I was relieved to have just submitted a completed assignment to the Cokesbury Publishing House, where I am an Adult Bible Study writer. She looked at me and said, “Yes, and when is it due? How many months early did you finish it?” I was tickled that she knows me so well. I like to get writing assignments wrapped up and off my desk early so that I can move on to the next thing. It blessed me to have a friend who has listened to me so carefully. I felt known.

And she was right. It’s not due until October.

No matter how strong your earthly relationships are, there is One who knows you better than anyone else. Psalm 33: 15 makes this clear: “God is the one who made all their hearts, the one who knows everything they do.” This unattributed psalm makes the case that God is both interested and observant in every aspect of our lives. God made all the hearts of humanity and watches over all who honor the Lord. Kings and warrior horses cannot save us: only God can deliver us from death.

God knows everything we do. How does that make you feel today, to be so fully known by the Creator of the Universe? Does it fill you with awe or shame?

Psalm 33 (Common English Bible)

The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees every human being.
¹⁴ From his dwelling place God observes
    all who live on earth.
¹⁵ God is the one who made all their hearts,
    the one who knows everything they do.

¹⁶ Kings aren’t saved by the strength of their armies;
    warriors aren’t rescued by how much power they have.
¹⁷ A warhorse is a bad bet for victory;
    it can’t save despite its great strength.
¹⁸ But look here: the Lord’s eyes watch all who honor him,
    all who wait for his faithful love,
¹⁹     to deliver their lives from death
    and keep them alive during a famine.

²⁰ We put our hope in the Lord.
    He is our help and our shield.
²¹ Our heart rejoices in God
    because we trust his holy name.
²² Lord, let your faithful love surround us
    because we wait for you.

The sheer beauty of this last portion needs to be read again. We do, indeed, put our hope in the Lord who is our help and our shield! No matter what you are going through today, God’s faithful love goes through it with you. Do you trust that? Do you feel that faithful love surrounding you today?

We wait for God … and God never disappoints.

Getting To Know You by Michelle Robertson