Never Alone

     There are times in  our lives when we all feel alone.  Perhaps a friend is moving away, we  may have lost a loved one or maybe, we have lost our employment.  Any of these situations can often make us feel isolated.  However, there is good news for all believers in God's Word.  In reality we are never alone.

     Psalm 139 has always been one of my favorites and it really came to life for me during our Sunday School lesson on the omnipresence of God.   The prefix "omni" means "all"; so to say God is omnipresent means that he is everywhere present since he is not bound by time or space.  This is a hard concept for those of us who are bound by both time and space with our physical bodies.  Yet, God is both transcendent and immanent.  Unlike pantheism that believes God is in everything, Christians believe He is everywhere present at all times.  What good news for the believer who at times feels alone or deserted in life.

     As the Psalm opens, we see David acknowledging that God knows him in an intimate way (vs.1).  God sees him when he rises up or is seated and more than that, God knows his thoughts.  He also knows how David behaves and what he is about to say even before he says it (Vs.2-4).  This is a picture of just how well God knows not only David but also each one of us.  In some ways, it is a bit frightening to know that God is acquainted with each one of us to this degree of intimacy.  For the Christian, this is a comfort, however.  David exclaims in vs. 6 "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it."

   

 When we turn to verses 7-12, we begin to realize that there really is no place we can go to get away from God's presence.  He resides in heaven but also in Sheol (the place of the dead).  He is in the morning and at the same time, in the depth of the sea.  Even darkness cannot cover us or keep us from God's presence.  While there are times when we may not feel that God is near, these words provide us with the picture of His abiding presence.  

     Perhaps the most intimate picture painted for us in the words of David's Psalm are these in verse 13-14:  "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."  The very fact that God intricately formed us to be who we are physically, spiritually and mentally means He knows us and cares about us like a mother knows her newborn infant.  There is nothing that would surprise God about us, and He delights in walking with us through this life.

     What we need to learn to do is remember that God, our all powerful, all knowing, all holy, all loving and ever present Redeemer will never leave nor forsake us.  This should inform our conduct in His presence and reassure us in times when we feel alone.  There is virtually no place where we can go that He is not already there for us.  Take comfort in knowing this today. Let our prayer be like David's closing words in vs. 23-24:  "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" Selah!