Psalm 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
Nana, Mimi, Gammie, Memaw…all sweet nicknames for Grandmas. I have a new one though, one unique to my 1 ½ year old grandson. “That.” There’s nothing quite so endearing as having the smiling little guy run toward me exclaiming, “That! That!” At least my husband has the distinct nomenclature of “Paw.” But I get the often-overused, sometimes unnecessary filler word… T-H-A-T. We think it probably stems from repeatedly asking him, “Who’s that?”
I actually don’t mind. As long as he knows who I am and how much I love him, he can call me “That” all he wants.
But it got me thinking. God knows my name and he knows me. He knows everything about me. The psalmist says God discerns our thoughts. He knows what we’re going to say before we say it. He knows when we get up, when we lie down, and where we go in between. Realizing God’s intimate knowledge of his highest form of creation causes the psalmist to exclaim, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me…”
Amen!
All humans crave to be known, to be seen. According to an article in Psychology Today, “Everyone wants basic respect and understanding, and when it is not given, a person can feel self-doubt and insecurity, lower self-esteem, depression, anxiety, or anger.” The deluge of surface attempts on social media testify to this basic need. My goodness, it’s like an epidemic. And sadly addictive for many. But no amount of clicks and likes satisfies our quest for significance.
Only God can give us the lasting recognition we long for. Because he made us and knows us better than anyone. He cuts right through all our pretenses, our hurts, our wounds, our ungodly reactions, and meets us at the very core of our being. And right there in the depths of our fragile identity, he says, “I love you.” His love stands even on those days when we feel like overused, unnecessary filler words.
When I held my little grandson as we said goodbye after a recent visit, he laid his head on my shoulder. Then he looked at me and rested his head on my other shoulder. How precious to know he knows “That” loves him.
I pray someday he will know how much God loves him. And that you, too, discover this “wonderful knowledge.”