Reason for Comfort or Concern?

Alan Smith, in a past Thought-for-Today email, shares a list that someone composed of “Cards You'll Never See at Hallmark.” Here are a few of them--

• “Looking back on our years together, I can't help but wonder.... What was I thinking?!”
• “I've always wanted to have someone to hold, someone to love....After having met you, I've changed my mind.”
• “I'm so miserable without you... It's almost like you're here.”
• “You are such a friend that if we were on a sinking ship and there was only one life vest... I'd miss you heaps and think of you often.”

Those are definitely not “When you care enough to send the very best” type sentiments. Here’s an idea that may be even more scary. What if your beloved knew what you were thinking before you said anything? No matter what you said, they would know completely what you really meant in your heart. No matter what you did, they knew your exact motives. Would that be a good thing? Well that is precisely the relationship with God that David ponders in Psalm 139.

1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

David is overwhelmed by this thought. And you begin to get the impression that the thought is more than just a little bit intimidating. There is no way to hide; there is nowhere to go to get away from God

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

But ultimately David finds the thought comforting. He knows that God understands him completely. Others can see our words and actions and misinterpret what we really meant to do or say, but not God. He looks beyond our external words and actions all the way to the deepest desires of our hearts. And David ultimately takes comfort in that fact.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

There is no doubt that God knows you from the inside out. He knows your every intent and motive-- not just what you do. He knows how you feel and what you mean-- not just what you say. God knows you. Is that a reason for comfort or for concern