Five-minute read.

You perceive my thoughts from afar.

Psalm 139:2b

No escape.

David understands how intimately God knows us; we can’t escape His presence. The Lord knows our thoughts, good, bad, and indifferent. The shepherd boy understood he couldn’t escape from the Creator, a blessing in David’s eyes, not a curse.

Thoughts lead to actions. Because I thought about exercising at the gym, I went to a strength training class. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think about doing something. God knows every thought we have. The Lord understands our outward activities come from inner thoughts. What we think becomes what we do.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.“

2 Corinthians 10:5

Nothing gets by our Maker; He knows every thought we have. I have awful thoughts, especially against people who cut me off in traffic or do something I perceive as offensive. Realizing God knows those instinctive human reactions to worldly situations embarrasses me internally. But then I remember the Lord leads with grace and mercy. Christ knew my imperfections and died for me long before I took my first breath.

Taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ means thinking about what we think about. If I don’t identify my thoughts, I can’t change them. 

For instance, a player must often hit the ball over a small body of water in golf. Many golfers will use a “water ball” for these shots, balls they don’t care if they lose. However, if players decide to change balls because they don’t want to lose their good ball, they already have thought about hitting into the water. In other words, their thoughts have determined they can’t hit the ball across the water before they ever strike it. And guess what? They typically end up hitting the ball into the water because they had the thought.

I don’t change my ball because I don’t want negative thoughts in my mind. God’s knowledge of my thoughts makes me think about what I’m thinking and identify negative messages, stopping me from doing negative actions. Trusting God hears my silent prayers gives me the boldness to seek and do the Lord’s will. Using scripture as a lens, I take captive errant thoughts and allow God’s influence to help me become obedient to Him in mind and body. Our thoughts govern our actions, and submitting to God controls our thoughts.

Prayer helps us change our thoughts as we invite God into the conversation. Yes, the Lord already knows, but He wants a relationship. Working together in unity requires effort from both parties. We can’t have a connection with our Maker if we don’t seek one. And we can’t change our thoughts if we don’t connect with God. The Lord reveals lies we believe in our minds, exposing them to the light, not letting them take root in our souls. 

Embrace God’s knowledge of your thoughts. Understand that the Lord loves you and wants an intimate relationship with you. God delights in you. Nothing pleases the Creator more than when we connect with Him, body, mind, and soul. Transformation comes when we unite our lives with Christ.

Application:

Intentional thoughts.

God knows our thoughts, and we should know them as well. Thinking about what we’re thinking will help us change our thoughts and actions. When someone cuts me off in traffic and mean thoughts enter my head, I don’t have to keep thinking those thoughts. Knowing God knows my thoughts and that He loves everyone, even bad drivers, means He wants me to love them, too. 

I can change my thoughts by confessing my negative thoughts to God and inviting Him into the equation. Instead of asking the Lord to curse the offender, I ask Him to bless them, which changes my thoughts and actions towards the person.

Intentional thoughts lead to deliberate actions, leading to more Christ-like living when we make our thoughts obedient to Him.

Journaling Question:

1. What am I thinking?
2. How can I become more aware of my thoughts?
3. What can I do today to make my thought life obedient to Christ?

Prayer:

Lord, forgive me for believing lies and having negative thoughts. Thank You for holding me accountable to my thought life. I’m grateful. You know, every thought that runs through my mind. Help me become more like Christ as I align my mind with Yours. Let my actions reflect Jesus because my thoughts do. IJNIP. Amen

Five-minute read.

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.

Psalm 139:1

God knows all!

“Knows” means complete, divine discernment.[i]  Written by David, a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14), the shepherd boy laid bare his soul before the Lord. Found innocent in his Maker’s sight, David received a verdict of righteousness from the judge. The Lord’s knowledge of the earthly king favored David for his loyalty to the heavenly Master. God washed away David’s sin with His grace and mercy.

Everyone has parts of their story they don’t want others to know about them. Talking with a lifelong friend, she knows the sins of my past.

“That’s because I know what you did in your twenties,” she said.

Laughing, I couldn’t help but agree. And for days after, every time I thought of our conversation, it made me smile. So funny, but also miraculous because God has brought me so far from those days and truly transformed my heart. Confessing my sin to the Lord and letting Him search my heart allowed God to replace my shame with His love. God’s grace helped me forgive myself, let go of my transgressions, and become a new person in Christ.

Having the Lord search your heart can seem like a daunting task. Exposing all our sins takes courage. Fear keeps us quiet, afraid of rejection. But God already knows everything you’ve done or will do. As Creator of the universe and Creator of you, nothing escapes the Master. When God searches our hearts and we reveal our deepest secrets, nothing surprises Him.

Not only does God know what I did in my twenties, but He also knows the unloving thoughts I had yesterday. And He still loves me. Jesus died on the cross knowing the hearts of people:

“Would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.”

Psalm 44:21

We can come confidently before the Lord and bear our souls to Him, just as King David did. God already knows because of His complete and divine discernment. But He wants a relationship with us, one that has no walls. Resting in the Creator’s unconditional love for us allows us to accept ourselves. What we think of as imperfect, God makes perfect through Him.

David didn’t fear the Lord searching his heart, nor should we. As we open ourselves up to God, He reveals to us unhealthy areas and then heals them. One hurt at a time, one day at a time, we become whole in Christ, eventually perfect when God calls us into our eternal home with Him.

Application:

No need to hide from God. Once forgiven, always forgiven.

Stepping onto the tee box in front of a stranger, I thought, “Wait until he sees this drive.” Because of my consistent practice, my ball striking in golf improved. The moment I became better at contacting the white, pimpled ball with my club, pride immediately began to raise its head.

“That’s sin! Oh Lord, forgive me.” 

My next thought identified and confessed the inappropriate thought. Because God already knows my thoughts, the quicker I identify and admit them to Him, the faster I can let them go.

God already forgave me the minute I asked Him into my life. He knows my struggle with sin will continue until I reach my eternal destination. I don’t need to hide from the Lord; I can live transparently with Him.

Journaling Questions:

1. What part of my heart am I hiding from God?
2. What fear keeps me from living transparently with the Lord?
3. What can I do today to draw closer to Jesus?

Prayer:

Lord, forgive us for trying to hide our imperfections from You.  Search our hearts and judge our ways. Let us receive Your grace and mercy as we submit our lives to You.  Help us live in Your promises, knowing nothing we do will separate us from Your unconditional love. As we receive Your grace and mercy, help us share it with others, introducing them to their Creator. 

In Jesus’s name, I pray,

Amen

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[i] Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): Old Testament

Copyright 2004