O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

Psalm 139:1

Psalm 139 is a remarkably personal psalm. Reading it feels like eavesdropping on a private conversation between a king and his God. Yet its inclusion in the hymnbook of the Bible means that this is a conversation that we’re all invited to have with our God. Throughout the psalm, we’re reminded that our God knows our actions, our thoughts, our ways or habits, our words, our physical bodies, our days, our cares and burdens (see also Ps. 94:19), and our sins. Pause for a moment: Isn’t it amazing how intimately God knows you?

The knowledge that David describes and praises here isn’t the knowledge of a student about a subject or even the relational and physical knowledge of an intimate human relationship. Rather, it is the deep and abiding knowledge that only the One who “knitted [us] together” could have (Ps. 139:13). God knows exactly who we were created to be and what we were designed for (see Eph. 2:10), and he knows how sin has marred our good creation (see Rom. 3:23). He knows our secrets, both those that bring us shame and those that feel too tender to share (see Ps. 44:21).

How can God’s knowledge of us as described in Psalm 139 encourage our hearts?

We can be assured that we’re never alone, never hidden from his presence. Even in the darkest places, our all-knowing God is still leading us and holding us (see vv. 9–12).

Because God made us and wrote the story of our days, we can trust that we were created with great care, wisdom, and intentionality. God’s works are wonderful, and that is true of each of us (see v. 14).

When we feel anxious, conflicted, or lost, God knows us better than we know ourselves, and we can come to him for insight and direction (see vv. 23–24).

We can be honest with God about our sin. He already knows our “grievous way[s]” better than we do (v. 24), and desires to lead us in his way. David knew this very personally: after having his most shameful sins exposed, he received God’s forgiveness and ongoing care (see 2 Sam. 11–12; Ps. 51).

We can come to God with our pain, burdens, and deepest longings. We need not minimize our pain or dismiss the ache of our unmet desires. We can find comfort and rest in the fact that even the parts of ourselves that feel most vulnerable are lovingly known. Whether in the darkness and vulnerability of sleep (see v. 18), the womb (see vv. 13–15), or sin and shame (see vv. 11–12), we can follow David’s lead by finding reassurance in the Lord’s knowledge.

We can rejoice and delight in God’s intimate knowledge of us. How wonderful and precious it is that the Lord would care to know us (see vv. 6, 17).God knows our best and our worst, the beautiful and the ugly, and everything in between. He knows every detail, and yet he loves us still (see Rom. 8:31–39). For me, and perhaps for you too, that is the most wonderful part of all.

—Jenilyn Swett, author, Singleness