Saturday, June 6, 2026

Opening Scripture

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9

Opening Prayer

Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for rest and the promise of a new day. I praise You for Your loving kindness, Your thoughtful provision, and Your comforting presence. Help my hope and security be in You today, not in what I do, or what I have, or what others think. May Your Spirit guide me in the way I should go. Help me to appreciate Your blessings and see You at work around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Psalm 139

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For 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. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you. If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Reflection

Today’s passage is one of David’s most intimate and awe-inspiring psalms. It begins with the staggering reality that God knows us completely. God doesn’t just know everything. He knows everything about us – our coming and going, our joys and sorrows, even the words on our tongue before we speak them. This reality takes “abstract theology” and makes it supremely applied and personal!

Our omniscient Creator is also omnipresent. God doesn’t just know everything, He is present everywhere all the time, from the highest Heaven to the grave itself. He was even in attendance as we were miraculously formed in our mother’s womb. He knows that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” because He watched it happen.

The phrase “You hem me in behind and before” describes God’s divine protection, not as oppressive surveillance, but as a loving Father caring for His children, which should comfort rather than unsettle us.

God’s thoughts toward us are so numerous that they exceed the grains of sand on all the beaches of the world. He doesn’t merely think about us once in a while or occasionally wonder how we’re doing. We are constantly on God’s mind, with unlimited thoughts of mercy, renewal, and blessing.

The abrupt shift at the end of the psalm indicates how David’s focus transitions from being astonished by the Creator to his hatred of the wicked, which shows that devotion to God alters our values and priorities to align with His. Like David, we become zealous for God’s honor and refuse to ignore or be neutral about sin.

Rather than running from God or resisting scrutiny, David draws near to God and requests His examination, not just of his actions, but of his thoughts, words, and attitudes. This knowledge of God’s greatness should lead us to wonder at His thoughts toward us, to hate what He hates, and to invite Him to search our hearts and lead us in the way everlasting.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

This psalm clearly expresses the reality that our faith is not only intellectual, but highly relational. How incredibly comforting to realize that the One who knows you best, loves you most! In fact, God knows us better than we know ourselves, and He loves us better than we love ourselves.

God’s presence is personal and palpable, invasive and disruptive. Intimacy with the Almighty is not just a gentle warming of our souls, but a powerful alteration of our identity, values, meaning, and purpose.

Many of us believe this text offers strong support for the position that life begins at conception, rather than birth, as the Creator participates in each person’s miraculous development in the womb. As such, every human is worthy of love, respect, and dignity.

This week, we’ve had in mind the fruit of the Spirit: love. God’s perfect love has been woven through David’s testimony in the Psalms. Certainly, today’s passage offers a beautiful expression of what it means to experience profound, life-changing intimacy with Almighty God.

Having considered all this, it should be difficult for anyone to feel insignificant or unimportant. The King of the Universe is our loving Heavenly Father. He knows everything about us, and He is partial to each of us.

May the final statement in today’s text be our prayer each day: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!