You Are Known

The Bible is a treasure trove of answers. Answers to every question we could ask, even every thought we might have about anything we face in this life. We can look to the Bible for wisdom, guidance, explanation, hope, even prophecy, learning what is coming and planned for the people of God and for the future. We can look to God’s word to hear what He says to us regarding any topic. The Bible is His words and His instruction to us. Psalm 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” One of the incredible truths His word reveals to us is just how intimately the Lord knows us and that the details of our lives matter to Him. His word speaks directly to His deep love and compassion and care for His people.  

The Bible very clearly shows us God has known us since before we ever breathed our first breath in this world. He is our Creator, and before we were born, we were made by Him. Psalm 139:15-16 tells us, “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.”  God has intricately woven us together. We are deeply known and intentionally created.

The Bible also tells us, we are made in the image of God. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). If we are made by God, in His image, we know we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Isaiah 49:1 also speaks to the fact that we are known by God before we are born, when it so sweetly says, “…The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.”

When we consider that God made all of creation, and we examine the details given to each flower, animal, tree with its fruit and leaves, we must include ourselves as one of His great creations. We are intricately created, known, and named by Him for a purpose He has declared. Psalm 139:16 says, “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 was none of them.” Every day ordained for us is already written in His book. He has a plan and purpose for each one of us.

Not only does God create each of us, He knows intimately those who belong to Him. In Psalm 56:8, David is writing as he is under attack from his enemy, and he tells of God’s great compassion. He says, “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” David knew God was close to him and kept record of his sadness and sufferings. When David declares that God has put his tears in His bottle and kept record of his sorrow, he speaks to the intimacy of his relationship to the Lord and gives us a picture of the Lord’s deep compassion and care for His people.

The Bible speaks even further to how deeply we are known by our Creator. In Matthew 10:30, Jesus says, “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” As parents, we can describe our kids over and over, but we can never know how many hairs are on their head. We can’t count them even if we tried. Resting in the fact that the Lord knows every detail about us, even more than we could ever know ourselves, brings us such comfort and a deeper understanding of His capacity to take care of us.

In Jesus’ sermon in Matthew 6, He explains that even the fleeting beauty of His creation is cared for under His watchful eye. If He cares for the grass of the field, how much more will He care for us? He says, “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all” (Matthew 6:30-32). He knows what we need, even our most basic needs.

David said in Psalm 8:4, “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”  God takes such great care of our daily needs and the tiny details related to us. Why does such a mighty and powerful God do such a thing? 1 John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” We are His children. Those who have come to the Father through Jesus, are His children. Jesus said in Matthew 7:11, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” He knows us and cares for us because we are His children, and He knows how to give good gifts to His children.

The Bible shows us repeatedly that our God is a good God who cares for those who belong to Him. The psalms is a great place to read declarations of His great love, power and care for us. Psalm 139, in particular, is a gift to us, as His children, to understand how very intentionally we are made by Him and how closely He knows us. It even tells us we cannot escape His presence. He is always with us. If you have never read it, we encourage you to read it this week. If you know it, we encourage you to read it afresh, spending some time with the Lord reflecting on His goodness and thanking Him for His presence in your life.

-Jennifer & Rebecca