A Little Something Extra...Nativity of John the Baptist

God Knows Us

Let's spend some time taking a closer look at the verses of Psalm 139 that we heard at Mass today.

O LORD, You have probed me, You know me:
You know when I sit and when I stand;
You understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest You scrutinize,
with all my ways You are familiar.

God knows us more intimately than we can ever imagine. He knows what we are doing at every moment of the day. He understands all of our thoughts. He sees and comprehends all of our work, all of our leisure, all of our rest. He is familiar with all of our motives. In fact, He knows why we do things better than we ourselves do.

* How does this make you feel to know that God knows you and understands you so intimately?

* What does this tell you about God?

* How might you behave differently and think differently if you always kept God's intimate knowledge in mind?

Truly You have formed my inmost being;
You knit me in my mother's womb.
I give You thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are Your works.

God formed us and fashioned us from the very first moment of our existence. He made our bodies and our souls. He gave us our unique physical characteristics and our individual talents. He created us in all our wondrous complexity and beauty. Further, God has sustained us throughout our whole lives, and He does so even now. He thinks about us constantly; in fact, if He stopped for even an instant, we would cease to exist.

* Have you ever taken the time to think about the wonder of your physical and spiritual self? Remember, you are the handiwork of God!

* Reflect on the gifts God has given you. Are you making full use of those gifts?

* God cares for you! All the time! Think about all the ways in which God is sustaining you and caring for you right now.

My soul also You knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to You
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.

God knows and understands your soul, your mind, your heart, your body, everything about you, completely. He lovingly formed your body from the materials of the earth and gave you a spiritual soul. Even before you were born, when no one else could see you, God could see you. He loved you then, and He sees and loves you now.

* Spend some time today thanking and praising God for creating you, sustaining you, knowing you, and loving you.