God knows us better than we know ourselves

“You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.” Psalm 139:2-4
Reading Psalm 139 always makes me stop and think. It reminds me just how intimately God knows me. So much, in fact, that He knows me better than I know myself! And it’s not just me, but every person on the planet.
We read that God knows the number of hairs on our head (Matt. 10:30). But God doesn’t just know the physical facts about us – how tall we are, where we live, how many cells in our body. He knows every one of our thoughts, our motives, our desires. This might seem frightening, but think about it. God doesn’t make sure to know these things so He can punish us. He knows these things because He cares for us.
Jer. 17:9 tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Certainly not us. That’s right: we can be deceived by our own hearts. But because God knows the innermost depths of us, we can ask Him to reveal these things to us – the things hidden inside our own hearts. God really does know us better than we know ourselves. And that’s why, when we slip up and fall into sin, He has compassion on us and extends the offer of forgiveness to us. He saw it coming. I find that very comforting – how about you?