I am not selling insurance but God’s assurance during uncertainty. We are still amid the pandemic, and we are unsure about the future. What will happen to my job? My family? When we investigate Psalm 139, we see God’s assurance for us amid of the uncertainty.
Psalm 139:1-4
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You [a]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether
- The first thing that when we read in Psalm 139, we learnt that God knows and understands us the best, like no one in this Earth.
They tell us in counselling don’t tell someone that you understand the person but God says that He understands you. This is an assurance from God as He understands us as He created us. Jesus lived as a human and He certainly understood what is it like to be a human being.
2) Another assurance we gathered from Psalm 139, no matter where you are, God is with us. Psalm 139:7-10:
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [c]hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
3)God is with us even in times of darkness, in the midst of uncertainties. Psalm 139:10-12
If I say, Surely the darkness shall [d]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness [e]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
When we talk about the story of Joseph, it’s a classic example in the bible that God is with Joseph. He is taken from his family and robbed of his dreams that he will be a great man. He is taken away from his family, betrayed by his brothers and accused of a wrong charge. In the Bible, “God was with Joseph” was repeatedly emphasized in the Bible.
4) God really care for us, can you feel His care? Psalm 139:13-18
For You formed my inward parts;
You [f]covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for [g]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My [h]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
What a comfort to hear the assurance that God really care for us. He has created us and we were fearfully and wonderfully made. One day, I was told that my kidneys failed and would need a lifetime of dialysis. I thought I would die after a heart attack. I prayed and cried to God for healing. I was angry with God because I served God for more than 30 years and wondering how I could continue to serve Him with my medical condition. I was also worried about the cost of the dialysis treatment. “What’s next?” I wondered and prayed to God one night when I was in the hospital. I wondered if God care for me. God ministered to me as I meditated on His Word. I began to see the goodness in God and wondered about His purpose for me for having this illness. During these 5 years, I realized that God did care for me. He provided for me and I was still able to minister to others especially those who are sick with kidney failures. I am thankful that I could go through this.
5) God will fight for you: psalm 139:19-22
Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you [i]bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak against You wickedly;
[j]Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with [k]perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
God will fight for me. We do not need to struggle or fight against God. Sometimes we think of the pandemic is an evil thing that happened as it came to us wave after wave. Only God can fight against this pandemic. We are helpless. One thing we can do that we can do amid of fighting against the enemies. We need to surrender. We need to surrender to God who is our strength, refuge, our mighty tower.
6) The total surrender: Psalm 139: 23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties.
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.