“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.” (Psalm 139:1-3)

The word searched in this beautiful Psalm by King David is a mining term that means digging deep into the earth to find gold. King David used it to describe God’s grasp of his life because he realized that God’s understanding of his heart was so deep that He dug into the very core of his soul. God knows each of us that way too.

We may feel that God has left us high and dry, but He hasn’t. He is as near as our breath. We may be afraid that He doesn’t care, But He cares so much that He is as attentive as a loving mother with her newborn child. We may believe that we’re getting away with things because God isn’t looking, but He knows every action we take and even every thought we think. Nothing escapes His notice.

We are completely, absolutely exposed in the sight of God. Like Adam and Eve, in the Garden, we are naked before Him. However, unlike them in their unfallen state, we are often ashamed. God’s intimate and complete knowledge of everything about us, though is combined with grace, forgiveness, and love. He knows us, and He forgives us for being so selfish and making such foolish choices. He sees everything we do and perceives every thought, but He never turns away in disgust. A fresh grasp of the omniscience of God, then, helps us gain a new appreciation for His great grace.