Week 1 – Oh to be known

I have this friend who can really talk. I mean, talk. She is very sweet, but people tend to avoid her unless they have a free hour or so. See, she has this habit of cornering you and just talking. She rarely comes up for air or leaves space for anything more than a ‘huh… yeah…. Oh wow’. And what it tells me is that she has an unmet need to feel heard and to be known.

 

The truth is, we all have a deep desire to be known. And not the typical ways either – by our labels, our ethnicity, our family or our past. But to be known for who we are. We long to know that even in our most raw state, we are still loved and cherished. What’s more, we long to know that we are not just loved for our accomplishments, but even for our quirks, our humiliating mistakes and our bad moods. We simply want to be really, truly known and accepted.

 

Sadly, humans don’t always take the time to fully know and accept the weird and unattractive parts of others. But there is good news. Our Heavenly Father does. And despite our flaws, He has nothing but oceans of unconditional love for us. This is what our scripture is all about, in fact. The 139th Psalm says that God sees us right down to our most finite detail. He doesn’t see the polished versions we present to the world, he sees you and he sees me. The real versions.

 

 

You know what’s most beautiful about how deeply God knows us? It’s that he doesn’t just know everything about us because he has to, but because he wants to. Scripture says he takes the time to actively search us. Every day, He’s doing full body, mind and heart scans until every thought and desire lurking in our most hidden corners is revealed to him. There is nothing about us that God doesn’t see and know.

 

What’s ironic, is that this Psalm was written by David. If you know David from the Bible, you know that he happened to have a fairly sordid, not exactly squeaky-clean past. David was guilty of adultery, murder and covering up his sins, in fact. No small transgressions. Yet he celebrated how fully known he was by his Creator.

 

The book of Psalms is an anthology of poetry that served as praise, worship and confession to God. It was written over a wide time period (1440 BC to 586 BC) by multiple authors, but it was David who wrote so beautifully about even his deepest secrets being known by God. He understood that fundamental human need to know that, despite our sinful choices and ugly words, our Heavenly Father is leaning in for every muttered prayer, each weary confession and every wordless praise. He is taking the time to listen and sit with us in both our brightest and our darkest days.

 

 

As you go through this week, notice those moments when you yearn to be known and reread our scripture. Let David’s words remind you that you are supremely and intricately known and deeply loved.