God is All Knowing

By: Marcie Dennis

Psalm 139: 3-4 “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.”

God is Omniscient If you’ve been around the church long, you have likely heard that God is omniscient, omnipotent & omni-present. Today we’re going to start with omniscience – “the state of having total knowledge, the quality of knowing everything.” As we discussed previously, he knows every hair on your head (Luke 12:7) and he knows your coming and going, every thought in your head (Psalm139:3-4).

Now, before some of you panic about that notion, let’s take a breath. Remember that God gave up his Only son to die for those exact thoughts and actions you’re worried about right now, he erased every last one of them and He loves you anyway (Romans 5:8).

There are numerous verses that speak to God knowing everything about everything. God is able to know everything because as we discussed a couple of weeks ago, he is eternal and beyond time.

Psalm 139:16 says, “Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.”

Before time even began, he knew the end of it and every pathway in between. He is the Alpha & Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 21:6). He is the author of our lives and knows exactly what we need and when.

God Knew What I Needed God knew I would need Nicole on some of the very worst days of my life. Yes, I’m referencing my co-creator Nicole who is building this ministry with me and wrote the last two devotionals. Nicole and I met in college and became fast friends. About a year later, my father was diagnosed with cancer.

After a long month of discovering that the cause of his problems was cancer and the prep for treatment, I was drained. Nicole suggested we take a sabbath trip to the Colorado mountains of her home state before we started the fall semester of college. This would help give me the breathing room I needed before stepping into the semester.

We headed off for a weekend in Eagle, Colorado with her brother, surround by some of God’s most beautiful creations. We were mostly silent as I prayed and processed this new and terrible twist in life. We hiked, cooked, sat and chatted for a very peaceful weekend that really did help to refresh me.

Fast forward past the frequent weekend trips home to help with the household upkeep and transport of my 16yr old brother while my mom spent weekends at the hospital with my dad due to intense pain-levels. Maybe a couple of weekends before Thanksgiving break, Nicole and I were at a worship night with our friends when she came to me and told me to call my mother.

My mother had called my RA, who called my roommate, who called Nicole, who was with me and told me to call my mom. She wanted to make sure I had support with me, and God gave me Nicole.

I did so to learn that they’d found a tumor (a secondary cancer) on my father’s spine, and it had paralyzed him from the waist down. It was slowly working its way up his body, and they didn’t know if he would survive the night. They had sent my dad’s co-worker and a family friend to come pick me up and he was already on the way.

Nicole took me back to my dorm room where I tried to start packing. I didn’t get very far before I froze mid step. She sat me down and took over packing for me. I don’t even remember what we talked about, but she waited the two hours with me until my ride came.

My father survived that night because they started radiation. Fast forward again past Christmas in the hospital with the most festive room there and it’s a few days before New Year’s. Nicole and I had planned another trip to get a refresh and this time we went to her parent’s place in Indiana. We decided it was safe for me to go because my father had been stable for almost a month on radiation treatments.

We had a good, tame holiday and spent more time enjoying the winter outdoors. January 2nd, I woke up and turned my phone on. I had several missed calls and texts from my family saying Dad had coded and to call straight away.

I called my mom, and she told me my father had passed away around 2:00am that morning. A minute later I numbly hung up the phone and collapsed into Nicole’s lap. She had walked back into the bedroom and saw the distress on my face but hadn’t heard the news. I told her and simply cried.

I don’t know how long we sat there but eventually she went downstairs to talk to her parents. Her father worked for the airline we had flown on, and they got me on a flight home that afternoon.

She continued to be there for me as best we could figure out as I processed my grief. Now, 12 years later, our friendship is one of the deepest I have. I thank God that he saw my worst days coming and placed her as a safe place for me to help with practical needs and comfort. I’m also certain she was a prayer warrior for me in those days even though we never talked about it.

God has known all the best relationships, jobs, and homes for me. And while I haven’t always listened to his guidance, it’s been there. His quiet whispers are all over my life, pointing me to what he knew was best for me. When I do listen, it’s more than I could have hoped for. My husband is the number one example of that. I couldn’t have picked him better and our marriage wouldn’t be where it is today without God’s knowing hand all over it.

God Knows What You Need Psalm 139: 3-4 “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.”

It is a beautiful thing when God knows everything you need. He knows you at the depth of your heart and he knows every struggle that you have. He wants to be there for you and care for you. If we let God into our hearts, thoughts, and days, He can work wonders.

If you’re struggling to maintain control over some errant, false and harmful beliefs, ask God to show you how you can overcome this, he will show you what is best for you.

If you have a physical need, whether it’s a fully functioning car, medicine, babysitter or home, God knows this and can provide for you. In college I was without a home for about six weeks and God knew this and placed people in my path who were able to provide a safe place for me to sleep during that whole time.

When your soul is restless and you feel the need for an answer, God knows it. He will provide you comfort in the form of an answer or his presence and power to get you through that season of struggle.

You can ask God to meet you where you are at in each moment, and he knows exactly what you need.

Conclusion: Our God who is eternal (Olam) and beyond time knows exactly what you and I need in every moment of every day. I like to think of the little ways where I see him meet a need as a kiss from God. Some call it a God moment where he’s smiling down on them. Whatever you want to call it, God’s love is shining through as he sees your needs and meets them.

Sometimes simply being fully known is comfort enough, you know that you don’t have to hide anything from him because it’s pointless and unnecessary. God cares for you so deeply that he knows all your sins beforehand and has already wiped them clean!

Please take a few minutes to listen to our song of the week, He Knows, and praise him for the goodness of who God is and what he knows.

Prayer: Dearest Elohim, Thank you for creating me and caring for me. You alone can satisfy me, you alone have the strength to provide what I need, and you alone know every last part of me. I am grateful to be so fully known by the God who loved me enough to sacrifice his one and only son for me! Please open my eyes and ears to your guidance in my life today. I need your omniscience to direct my path and grow me into who you’ve intended for me to be. I love you so much Lord.

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Hey sweet lady, we want to take a quick minute to guide your next steps with the scripture and application portion. We believe that in order to truly grow closer to God, we need to spend time dwelling on what he’s trying to teach us and not rush through it. We encourage you to spend a full week dwelling on this devotional and all it has to offer you. That means you can save some of the scripture passages for another day or re-read them in the week. We also encourage you to take your time with the application portion. You can sit in each prompt until you feel God revealing his truths to you. Don’t rush, take time to truly get to know him better by sitting in what he’s trying to teach you this week. That's where your faith will grow. Scripture for Deeper Study:

• Psalm 139

• Romans 11:33-36

• Hebrews 4:12-16

Application:

• Journal how thoughts of God’s deep knowledge of your faults paired with his deep love for you make you feel.

• Reflect on Psalm 139 and write your own letter of gratitude to God.

• Take time to seek God’s knowledge this week regarding an area you haven’t yet sought him out for.