Speaking Of Life 1041 | Being Seen
Michelle Fleming
Have you ever had the kind of friendship where you can almost read each other’s minds? My closest friends and I call this “Bestie ESP.” Some people call this “being seen.” It’s comforting to be known and seen for who you really are.
The Bible tells us that God also sees us and knows us. He knows all our thoughts, and there’s nothing we can hide from him. Psalm 139 says,
[look down]:
I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too—your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—I can’t take it all in! (Psalm 139:2-6, MSG).
[look up]
If you’re like me, you’re thinking, Oh, no! I don’t want God to always know what I’m thinking. I don’t want God to know when I lose my temper and yell. Won’t he be disappointed or mad? It’s too late; he already knows! Here’s a story that illustrates how that doesn’t even matter.
A mother had baked chocolate chip cookies and told her preschooler he couldn’t have a cookie until after dinner. She left the kitchen to work in the laundry room, and when she came back, there was the little step stool he used to reach anything on the kitchen counter. Sure enough, one of the cookies was gone. This mother went to her little boy, saw the crumbs sticking to his mouth, and asked him if he ate a cookie. He looked incredulous and said, “How did you know?”
We are sometimes like that preschooler, forgetting that our Creator knows us inside and out. God knows our triumphs over selfishness, and he knows when we blow it. He sees our generosity—as well as the times we don’t want to share. We can’t hide anything from God—but that’s good news! If our friends can “see us” and still love us, our Creator God can do that and so much more.
Even when we mess up, God is always on our side, just like our friends with their “Bestie ESP.” We don’t have to worry that our failings disappoint him. He knows transformation is messy business, and he’s willing to get down in the mess with you and me.
I am Michelle Fleming, Speaking of Life
