Rev Susan Galloway, Locum Minister

Psalm 139 vv 1-6 A psalm of David.
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.

Unseen Divine Care

I’m not what you would call a happy gardener but it’s something that needs to be done. One day as I was working in the garden, weeding along the stone edging by the pavement, I looked down and I saw an ant that was carrying a piece of twig. It was making its way with determination, and I was fascinated by this and so I watched silently until it reached its destination.

It then laid the twig over the crack in the pavement and tried to push it down but that didn’t work so the ant walked round to the other side and tried again but, once more, to no avail. The ant then went down into the crack and tried to pull the horizontal twig, again without success.

Very quietly I knelt down and slowly reached out and up ended the twig. Immediately it was grabbed and disappeared down into the crack. I imagined then my ant friend saying to all the other ants that it had just witnessed a miracle.

The episode made me realise how our heavenly father is always there in the unseen, helping us in ways of which we are unaware.

God knows us through and through, He has perfect knowledge of us, and all our thoughts and actions. He knows what we are going to do or say even before we know ourselves. He knows what makes us happy and what irritates us. That is an amazing thought because it makes us realise the greatness of God and all the reasons we have to praise him.

David himself says in wonder in “Such knowledge (that is, the knowledge that God has) is too wonderful for me.”

To do what God can do; to know what God can know is beyond any of us. We simply don’t have the capacity to grasp the infinite power and knowledge of God, we glimpse only a fraction of what God can do. But that glimpse should be enough for us to bow in worship at his omniscience. Since God knows all about us, we can be sure that he knows our needs and can help us.

David speaks of God’s presence around him and his hand upon him. In the same way God’s presence and knowledge of us is all encompassing. God is close to us, and we are never off his radar. And so, he is always aware of our needs and is always nearby to give us his help. Even if we are in the most remote place, God sees and knows us. And if we look to God, he can lead us and hold us with his hand.

That God knows us, his children, is a source of great comfort for us, because we can be sure that God will see us and help us in all of our lives….

With every blessing,

Susan