I love the fact that God knows me intimately. To understand that He knows my desire to know and serve Him makes me feel good, as when a little boy is happy when his daddy is pleased with him. But to also understand that God knows my ugly, dark, sinful parts causes me to feel utterly amazed that He still loves me. He knows my heart, and He knows the weakness of my flesh. But as Psalm 136 said in it’s refrain: His steadfast love endures forever! 1 John 4:8 puts it this way: God is love.

Knowing this, my heart swells with love and gratitude. And it makes me want to continue to try to please Him, to continue to persevere in my efforts to live a life more devoted to Him today than I did yesterday.

And on those dark days when I fail Him to the point where I know I must have certainly brought Him grief, as the last verse in this chapter mentions, the shame I feel motivates me to humbly go to Him and ask forgiveness. And that is when I am most grateful for the promise we have in 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Every verse in this chapter is a jewel. Every verse confirms how good God is.

How about this one: 5You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. God is there behind me and in front of me, protecting me, surrounding me. And the most beautiful part of the verse, He lays his hand on me. When my boys were small, many were the times that when we were sitting next to each other, or when we were walking next to each other, I would lay my hand on their head or their shoulder. Just a loving touch to let them know that I was there and I love them. That’s what God does with us. Our loving daddy, or Abba in the Greek language.

How can one read chapter 139 and not love God more?