Isn’t it a wonder how the Lord God knows our every thought, hears our every word, sees our every action, feels our every feeling? That’s called omniscience. All knowing. How do we know that He knows everything? First, the Bible tells us so. Second, He tells us so. He communicates with us directly as individuals, and at times collectively.
It boggles my mind to think of His omniscience, His all knowing. Of course, we can say God knows everything, but when we stop and think about that for a hot second, and truly ponder what that means, it is a little overwhelming.
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.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
Psalm 139:1-4
One of the fascinating things about God’s omniscience is that it’s omnitemporal. God exists now. God existed then. God exists forever. Amen. There was no beginning to His existence and there is no end. He knew us before we were born, remember?
Lord, through all the generations
you have been our home!
Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from beginning to end, you are God.
Psalm 90:1-2
All of this simply means God knows all things for all time. Then to take it one step further, God is omnipresent. All present. Always there. Again, the thought of that is a little wow, isn’t it?
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
Psalm 139:7
I’ve gotten a little into the weeds with my preface here, but God communicated directly with me last week about such things and I want you to know that that communication, that communion with God is possible for every single believer out there. Here’s what happened…
I was talking with a coworker at work, you know shooting the breeze, and I don’t even know how it happened, what sparked it, but a little later I was reflecting on the conversation and my mind pointed out to me that I was grumbling, you know complaining, whining about life. Not life specifically, but generally. I know, I know, I was the person who wrote last week about rejoicing and joy! Guilty. Convicted.
Anyway, we were chatting and I started talking about the heaviness of the world, the underlying current with life experiences, Covid, our families, our work, the state of our country, the world, the news, the needs, and how all those things were on my mind and how it affects all our lives and that how some days I can deal with it better than others. I even compared it to the cloud that hovered over the Addams Family car. I hope I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Anyway again, as I said it dawned on me later that I was just bellyaching. I was wrong. I later went back and apologized, she was gracious, but frankly, it was a little too late, the whining words had come out. The tone of the conversation had been set. The horse was out of the barn. This was on Friday.
So, Saturday morning I sit at my desk, open my prayer book and what do I see?
You have been on a long, uphill journey, and your energy is almost spent. Though you have faltered at times, you have not let go of My hand. I am pleased with your desire to stay close to Me. Jesus Calling
I was thinking, Yes! Thank you Lord, you are pleased with my efforts. You now, a little pat-pat on my own back. But, He was not finished speaking…
There is one thing, however, that displeases Me: your tendency to complain. You may talk to Me as much as you like about the difficulty of the path we are following. I understand better than anyone else the stresses and strains that have afflicted you. You can ventilate safely to Me, because talking with Me tempers your thoughts and helps you see things from My perspective.
Complaining to others is another matter altogether. It opens the door to deadly sins such as self-pity and rage. Jesus Calling (Continued)
Don’t you just love the way the Lord speaks to us? And yet, His smack down of me, which I completely deserved, was done because He loves me and to remind me of who is really in charge. Omniscient. Omnitemporal. Omnipresent. He knew what I would say. He knew when I would say it. He was present when I said it. Ouch! He said, Beth you’re not in charge, you’re not in control, you are damaging My reputation, just keep your mouth shut.
The omniscient, omnitemporal, omnipresent God I serve heard my every word, before it even came from my grumbling lips. Because He is omni, He could not let my sin go unchecked. Where’s my Rejoice? Guilty. Convicted.
Whenever you are tempted to grumble, come to Me and talk it out. As you open up to Me, I will put My thoughts in your mind and My song in your heart. Jesus Calling (Concluded)
He promises to refresh the weary and bring back the faint. Instead of complaining, I will pray. Instead of grumbling, I will rejoice. God is all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present. God knows us, God is with us, and his greatest gift is to allow us to know him.