1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 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.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand —
when I awake, I am still with you.
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 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.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand —
when I awake, I am still with you.
A few Sundays ago, after my diagnosis had already been confirmed and we knew I would be staying in the hospital for a few weeks, Jason turned to this passage during a church service and had me read it. I have since come back to it often for encouragement, and this afternoon was one of those times.
I had a great weekend with Jason and Harper--quiet family time that felt as much like normal life as I think it could. It was hard to see them leave. It was sad to order off the hospital menu instead of looking forward to the Olive Garden takeout we treated ourselves to last night. It's daunting to think about another three weeks in this room. But God is bigger than my circumstances, and this passage is a wonderful place in Scripture where we are reminded just how much He loves us.
He is with me--even here in my little room. He knows all the details, and He is taking care of them. He is knitting this baby together. He is taking care of Harper while I'm not there, hemming her in His protective care.
The psalmist is praising God for His presence. We are not promised trouble-free lives, but we are promised that we are never alone. Thank you, Lord. I heard this morning about a couple (that I know very distantly) from Sioux Falls who lost their 4-month old baby girl last night, and my heart has been so heavy for them all day. I just can't imagine. And every time I turn on the TV, I hear more about the shooting in Colorado and think about the horrible things those people endured. Even for Christians, life is not free from pain--far from it. But God is there. He is here.
Tonight, I am so thankful for that.
Amen. And again I say, amen.
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