December 26, 2024

This Week…Psalms 139:5 and 6

August 13, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

You hem me in behind and before,
and You lay Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Psalms 139:5 and 6

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

 In His Love Surrounds Us, Tina wrote about what it is like to have God ‘hem us in’ through the examples of Abraham, Moses, and Joshua….

hem:

to surround in a restrictive manner
to confine—usually used with in<hemmed in by enemy troops> (from Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

If we can follow this, we can see how God covered the Israelites in Egypt.  God worked in the lives of Abraham, Moses and Joshua…God surrounded His people with love and protection. A hemming in for the people…if only they would see and understand.

How often are we like the Israelites?  There can be a blessing waiting for us to grasp…if only we will let down our defenses and kneel before our God in holy reverence.

❦

In Divine Hand, Ann shared about the significance of ‘the hand of God’….

The hand of God signifies-

• the presence of God     • the favor of God     • the availability of God

The hand of God will guide us if we let it do so as we submit ourselves wholly to Him.  Check out the following verses:

Psalm 139 :10
Psalm 23:3
Romans 8:14
Psalm 108:6
Isaiah 41:10
Psalm 89:21
Isaiah 19:16
Isaiah 59:1
Deuteronomy 7:8
Isaiah 25:10Acts 4:30

And as Jabez cried out to the God of Israel 1 Chronicles 4:10,

“O Lord that You bless me and enlarge my territory!
Let Your hand be with me and keep me from harm
so that I will be free from pain…
and God granted his request.

 

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His Love Surrounds Us

August 12, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

You hem me in behind and before,
and You lay Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Psalms 139:5 and 6

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

You have to admire how David praised God; there is so much we can learn about how we should praise God everyday of our life.

hem:

to surround in a restrictive manner
to confine—usually used with in <hemmed in by enemy troops> (from Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

If we can follow this, we can see how God covered the Israelites in Egypt. He tells Abraham…

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring
will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there,
and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.”
Genesis 15:13

And then God prepared Moses to come and to take the people out of Egypt. God made sure Moses had the best education and best upbringing available at the time.  Then Moses had to be taken out of that atmosphere to become a man God could use to bring His people out—someone who would be patient and understanding; someone who would become a shepherd.

Next God prepared Joshua to lead the people into the promised land.  He had had years to learn from Moses’ leadership.  Joshua watched how Moses interceded for the Israelites and won God’s favor most of the time.  Joshua learned how to pray to God and wait for His answer. Again, God surrounded His people with love and protection. A hemming in for the people…if only they would see and understand.

How often are we like the Israelites?  There can be a blessing waiting for us to grasp…if only we will let down our defenses and kneel before our God in holy reverence.  God sends angels to watch over us and to protect us everyday.  Can you feel the presence of them?  Yes, sometimes you can: when you are taken out of a near accident, when you witness a child being born, when you wake up every morning.  These are gifts.

Just as we pray for our families, we are to pray and minister to the people who believe.  God sees us.  In public and in private.  He knows our heart. He loves our intentions and can use them for His glory.

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Father, help us take self out of our actions.  Help us to be like the man praying in the temple, the humble one, who said he was a sinner and not worthy to be thought of.  I want to be humble as he was.  Forgive me of my pride and help me to learn to submit to Your will for my life.  Help me to be an example of someone who ministers to the saints.  In Jesus’ name, amen!

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Your Hand Is Upon Me

August 11, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
Psalms 139:5 and 6

Dear Lord, such a picture that is—‘enclosed…behind and before’…with ‘Your hand upon me’!!  Truly that IS too wonderful for me…and if I did not read it in Your Holy Word quite possibly I wouldn’t believe it.  You are such an awesome God!  You remind us in the most tender ways of Your great love and care for us.  We are held in Your hand and protected, provided for, guided, loved.  Lord, help us to hold this vision—this Truth—in our minds and hearts so that when those times of worry and doubt and fear come (and they do!) we will be drawn quickly back to You and Your providential lovingkindness.  Thank You, dear Father, thank You!  In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen.  <3

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Divine Hand

August 10, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

You hem me in – behind and before
You have laid Your hand upon me.
Psalm 139:5

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

The hand of God signifies-

• the presence of God
• the favor of God
• the availability of God

The hand of God will guide us if we let it do so as we submit ourselves wholly to Him.  Check out the following verses:

Psalm 139 :10
…even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 23:3
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Romans 8:14
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Psalm 108:6
Save us and help us with Your right hand,
    that those You love may be delivered.

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God;
I will strengthen you and help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Psalm 89:21
With whom My hand shall be established:
Mine arm also shall strengthen him.

In that day the Egyptians will be like women.
They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand
that the Lord almighty raises against them.
Isaiah 19:16

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save nor His ear to dull to hear.
Isaiah 59:1

But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath He swore to your ancestors
that He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery…
Deuteronomy 7:8

The hand of God will rest upon us to fight for our battles
Isaiah 25:10

Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders
through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.
Acts 4:30

And as Jabez cried out to the God of Israel 1 Chronicles 4:10,
“O Lord that You bless me and enlarge my territory!
Let Your hand be with me and keep me from harm
so that I will be free from pain…
and God granted his request.

I therefore beseech you, brethren, to call on God in righteousness for His hand to rest upon us for our benefits (as stated above).

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Dear heavenly Father, I thank You for You are the great Lord.  Adonai, we worship You, we exalt Your majesty. Let Your hand be upon us all to the glory of Your holy name. By Your hand, Lord, may we be saved from enemies, may we be delivered, may we be uplifted, may we be strengthened, sustained, and favored in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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This Week…Psalms 139:1-3

August 7, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

 You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
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.
Psalms 139:1-3

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

This week, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we have looked at the Truth that our wonderful God knows all about us.  Our devotional writers have shared this understanding with us in the devotionals that they have written.  Here are a few of their thoughts….

In God Loves Our Brokenness, Tina reminded us that God can use us for His glory….

God loves our brokenness. Why? Because it is through our brokenness where He can begin to ‘FIX‘ us. God will:

  • F ocus on what is right in us, He will help us build our character to be a reflection of Him
  • I ntends to heal us and will use us as
  • eX amples of His great love and mercy

Also, God can use our past to help others to see Him as our Redeemer.  We can know that God will soften our hearts to forgive ourselves and use our lives to win others with similar situations to Him.  We just have to be willing.  We have to allow ourselves to be molded and shaped into what God can use. We will not be perfect; we are human.  But God can use our humanity to reach those who are unsaved…we will be able to reach others with our lives and show how God redeemed us from our path of sin and unrighteousness.

❦

In To Be Known, Ahmee shares how much it means to her to be ‘known’ by God….

These three verses focus on one of the many aspects of God that I truly love and adore—He knows me.  Coming from a place in my life where I felt misunderstood, weird, different, and alone into a relationship with my Lord Who knows everything about me has been amazing.  Some people have things about themselves that they want to hide or hope others never find out…and they behave the same with God.  I’ve never been that way.  God knows everything about me, whether I tell Him or not.  And He knows everything about me whether I want Him to know or not.

Nothing I do, say, or think as well as nothing I have thought, said, or done,  can change the fact that God loves me.

  • He loves me just the way I am.
  • He doesn’t separate the good from the bad.
  • He doesn’t only love me when I behave.
  • He doesn’t only love part of me.
  • He loves all of me.

❦

In Divine Knowledge, Ann relates how these characteristics of God—His omniscience and His omnipresence—are described throughout Psalm 139….

In verses 1-3 of Psalm 139 it shows God knows all our inward thoughts, motives, desires, and fears as well as our outward habits and actions.  He knows all we do from the beginning of the day to its end.  In everything we do, He encircles us with His care and lays His hand of favor upon our heads.  Our God knows everything and so we should not deceive ourselves that He is not there watching when we are doing what is not pleasing unto Him.  He sees all.  Refer to the verses below for a good understanding of how God operates:

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
He will not grow tired or weary
and His understanding no one can fathom.
Isaiah 40:28

He reveals deep and hidden things,
He knows what lies in darkness and light dwells with Him.
Daniel 2:22

…do not be like them for your Father knows
what you need before you ask Him.
Matthew 6:8

…and again, The Lord knows
that the thoughts of the wise are futile.
1 Corinthians 3:20

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You Are Familiar with ALL our ways

August 6, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

You have searched me, Lord, and You know me.
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.
Psalms 139:1-3

Oh, dear Father…to be known by You!  You—the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who hung the moon and each and every star and planet!  You—the Designer of all life here on this Earth—the animals, the birds, the fish, every type of plant and tree!  You—Who made the sun to give light to the daytime and the moon to give light to the night-time!  What a wondrous (and true!) thought that ‘You are familiar with all my ways!’  Oh, we also know about our ways…and some of them are not so good, Lord.  But You love us in spite of our faults and failures, our sins, our idiosyncracies.  Lord, today may we recognize the great privilege of this.  You are so good to us!  We praise and thank You in Jesus’ name.  Amen.  <3

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Divine Knowledge

August 5, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo
O Lord, You have searched me and You know me
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.
Psalms 139:1-3

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

The whole chapter of Psalm 139 describes various aspects of God’s attributes especially His omnipresence and omniscience as well as the ways that these characteristics relate to His care for His people.

The God of heaven and earth created us and has perfect knowledge of us.  He is always with us and His thoughts are always directed toward us in every situation.

As mountains surround Jerusalem
so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.
Psalm 125:2

In verses 1-3 of Psalm 139 it shows God knows all our inward thoughts, motives, desires, and fears as well as our outward habits and actions.  He knows all we do from the beginning of the day to its end.  In everything we do, He encircles us with His care and lays His hand of favor upon our heads.

Our God knows everything and so we should not deceive ourselves that He is not there watching when we are doing what is not pleasing unto Him.  He sees all.  Refer to the verses below for a good understanding of how God operates:

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God the Creator of the ends of the earth,
He will not grow tired or weary
and His understanding no one can fathom.
Isaiah 40:28

He reveals deep and hidden things,
He knows what lies in darkness and light dwells with Him.
Daniel 2:22

…do not be like them for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
Matthew 6:8

…and again, The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.
1 Corinthians 3:20

Even in times with our adversaries let us bear in mind that God knows the situation even beforehand.  He just waits for us to call on Him and will give us the desires of our hearts.  He will wipe away our tears, taking away the shame.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Holy, Holy are You, our God.  Heaven and earth are full of Your glory; Hosanna in the highest.  Thank You for You are the God who sees and knows us in every way.  Thank You for this privilege to be called Your sons.  May You search our hearts and our minds…and if you find anything that is not worthy…please uproot it in Jesus’ name so that we live a holy life pleasing unto You.  Be with us now and forever more.  We pray in Jesus’ name amen.

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To Be Known

August 4, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me,
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
Psalms 139:1-3

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

These three verses focus on one of the many aspects of God that I truly love and adore—He knows me.  Coming from a place in my life where I felt misunderstood, weird, different, and alone into a relationship with my Lord Who knows everything about me has been amazing.  Some people have things about themselves that they want to hide or hope others never find out…and they behave the same with God.  I’ve never been that way.  God knows everything about me, whether I tell Him or not.  And He knows everything about me whether I want Him to know or not.

“To be known”…to some this is a great fear but to me it is a great freedom. Nothing I do, say, or think as well as nothing I have thought, said, or done,  can change the fact that God loves me.

  • He loves me just the way I am.
  • He doesn’t separate the good from the bad.
  • He doesn’t only love me when I behave.
  • He doesn’t only love part of me.
  • He loves all of me.

God can love all of me because He made me.  He knows me.  And when I give Him my life and work with Him, He can take the bad things in me and transform them to good things.  Being bad does not hinder God’s ability to love me one bit.  It is impossible.  He loves me because He chooses to and I have nothing to do with that.  NOTHING!

How awesome—that we serve a God who knows our everything and still calls us to be in a relationship with Him!  You don’t have to be perfect.  You don’t have to ‘get your life together’.  You don’t have to stop a certain behavior or learn a new trick in order for God to love you.  He just loves you.  In a world where a lot of things are conditional, God’s unconditional love can be unfathomable to some.

What does God gain from loving us?  Think about it…
What could the Creator of the world possibly gain
from loving you and I in our imperfection?
I say—ask Him.

 *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Lord, thank You for loving me unconditionally.  Thank You for seeing me for who I am here and now.  Thank You for caring enough about me to take the time to help me grow into a better me.  Help me to see that I have to do nothing to earn this love.  Amen.

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God Loves Our Brokenness

August 3, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

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.
Psalms 139:1-3

 *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

God loves our brokenness. Why? Because it is through our brokenness where He can begin to ‘FIX‘ us. God will

  • F ocus on what is right in us, He will help us build our character to be a reflection of Him
  • I ntends to heal us and will use us as
  • eX amples of His great love and mercy

God will make our sins as if they were not and will use our new life for His glory.  We need to be willing to walk in His ways without fear (Romans 3:21-31).  God will be with us and guide us along His path to righteousness.  Paul tells us that he was ready for the end of his life when he would receive his crown.

…in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day;
and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:8

Paul lived his life for God and knew it would be hard.  He did not falter from his path in order to show and tell people of Jesus’ great love. 

God will heal us from our past wounds, our past experiences. Some of those may be a result of a curse in our family history. Or it could be a result of our own disobedience to one of His commandments. An example would be if we have not honored our parents. We do not have to agree with how they live, or what they do, but we still have to give them honor for who they are in our lives.  Through grace God can restore those relationships to ones of tolerance and acceptance of who our parents are. 

Also, God can use our past to help others to see Him as our Redeemer.  We can know that God will soften our hearts to forgive ourselves and use our lives to win others with similar situations to Him.  We just have to be willing.  We have to allow ourselves to be molded and shaped into what God can use. We will not be perfect; we are human.  But God can use our humanity to reach those who are unsaved.  Just as we have the example of Samson and David, we will be able to reach others with our lives and how God redeemed us from our path of sin and unrighteousness. 

 *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Father, thank You for loving my brokenness. I ask that You continue to take away my sins and use me for Your glory and to further Your kingdom. Thank You for not tossing me aside as dross and for choosing to use me to tell others of Your great love. Thank You!  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!

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Psalm 139

August 2, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

You have searched me, Lord, and You know me.
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.
Psalms 139:1-3

Rebecca St. James, singer/songwriter
 *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

You search me
You know me
You see my every move
There’s nothing I could ever do
To hide myself from You
You know my thoughts
My fears and hurts
My weaknesses and pride
You know what I am going through
And how I feel inside

But even though You know
You will always love me
Even though You know
You’ll never let me go
I don’t deserve Your love
But you give it freely
You will always love me
Even though You know

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