Advent For Those Grieving | No. 19
ADVENT DAY NINETEEN
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.Psalm 139:1-6
HE KNOWS YOU + YOU ARE NOT ALONE
We are a people who want to feel understood, known. And nothing exposes our feelings of isolation more than tragedy, loss and suffering. We can be surrounded by family and friends, people who genuinely love us, and yet amidst loss we can still feel utterly alone. Because even those who love us deeply cannot fully fathom the weight of our loss.
God says He knows you, in ways you don't even know yourself. He knows even the most insignificant things about you like how many times you will stand up and sit down today. He knows that number before the day even starts. He knows your thoughts and He knows the words you will speak before you ever speak them.
You may feel as though no one can identify with your pain and that no one could possibly understand how you feel or empathize fully with the grief you are currently wading through, and yet God says He can and He does. You desire to feel known and understand and God's response to you is this: "I know you fully. And I know you with a heart of compassion, the heart of a Father."
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.Psalm 103:13-14
THE PROMISE
God knows you completely and intimately and He understands fully your pain. He has not left you alone in your suffering, nor will He ever. He is your Father who has compassion on you.
PRAYER
Father, thank you that I am not alone in this suffering. Thank you for understanding, for empathizing, and for having compassion on me. Would you remind me today that You are there and that You see my pain? Thank you for being a God who knows His children deeply and walks alongside them.
