Why God is Never Shocked by Your Behavior
Besides the fact that God knows everything, God knows everything about you. In the same way a computer programmer or a video game creator knows every potential outcome of every keystroke or maneuver, God knows every one of your potential thoughts and actions. At first that may seem a little unsettling, as many of our potential thoughts and actions aren’t very appealing. But in reality, it’s actually great news. God knows all this about you and still loves you.
That’s exactly what the king and poet David was saying when he penned the beautiful 139th Psalm. In verses 13-16 he wrote, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
David confessed that nothing about his life escaped God’s knowledge, even before he was born. He understood that he was no cosmic accident. David knew that even before he was born, even from the moment of his conception, God had been forming him. God knew every day of David’s life and literally every breath David would breathe—exactly how many times his heart would beat in his lifetime—before he was ever born.
Now remember, David wasn’t perfect. He failed God in some spectacular ways. But was he afraid of God because God knew everything about him? Did he want to try to pull away from God so he wouldn’t let him down? No. In fact, David actually wanted more of God. He concluded his great prayer in Psalm 139 by saying: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24). Instead of fleeing God’s scrutiny, David welcomed it. It’s like he was saying, “Look God, since I can’t hide from you, since you know my thoughts before I think them, I want you to fully know me! Be in the very core, the very essence of my being. If you’re going to know me, then know everything about me!”
How are you going to let down a God who not only made you, but also knows every single detail of your life? God knows more about you than you do. He’s a you expert! How are you going to surprise him or somehow do something that he didn’t expect? You can’t. Look in a mirror and know that God is fully aware of who you are, and that he has still chosen to be there with you. You couldn’t get away from him, even if you tried.
