You have searched me

We are using Psalm 139 for our scripture purpose this summer at our United Methodist Annual Conference. I thought I would spend some time on it in these spaces on Mondays till then.

The first six verse read like this in the NIV: 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."

The pressure and the joy that comes from these words are palpable. He knows, uh, ME. YOU. US. He know.

John Wesley's notes say that Jewish doctors esteem this book more than any other. God's omniscience is assured.

Tony Evans says, "God knows what needs to be done. That's omniscience. He has the power to do it, that's omnipotence. He's always wherever He needs to be do do whatever needs to be done. That's omnipresence.

The power, the presence of God is asserted here more than most places in scripture, and we can open our birthday present and revel and revere or we can be frightened that God is there... always. Our choice.

Here's what I see, feel, know, and what I think makes these verses so important.

First, God can not be contained in a building. If your God is to be found merely on Sundays in the building we mistakenly call the church, your God is not the God of the Bible and He certainly isn't big enough.

Second, and I feel this is really important, He can not be contained in a country. Despite what many of my conservative brethren say and think, God wasn't born in the United States, and He isn't contained in the United States or any other country, for that matter.

God is always around, whether we call on Him or not. He is everywhere.

Hebrews says it well: "Nothing in creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." Oh. Shoot.

Pray with me:

Father, you are here beside me as I read this. You are with me as I fail you, and I do. You are with me as I struggle to find you. You are with me as I hurt, as I find joy. You are with me in the dark and in the light. You've always known me. You've always allowed me freedom. You've always been happy with me even when I've stumped my spiritual toes. Therefore, I ask today for your forgiveness. I ask today for you love and your strength to not do whatever I've had difficulty with again.

Amen.