The Father sees as well in the dark as He does in the light

The Father sees as well in the dark as He does in the light

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. – Psalms 139:1

Psalms 139:1-12

 1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

 3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.

 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.

 5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

 7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

 11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night–

 12 but even in darkness, I cannot hide from you. To you, the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

In The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, the last words of Chingachgook, capture the human longing for companionship. All the people of his tribe have died, he is truly left alone. He poignantly declares, “I, Chingachgook – Last of the Mohicans.” Chingachgook was truly separated from his people and alone.

The fear of abandonment is a universal fear of beings. As a primal fear and driving force. Fear of abandonment does not sabotage our connections. Rather, the culprit is how we handle this fear.  

This begins by recognizing fear of abandonment is involuntary. It is not something we cause. It just happens. There is no reason to blame ourselves. But we can take responsibility for our feelings. We can seek to overcome them. The process is slow and steady and often sporadic. The goal is to have a modicum of self-reliance while at the same time, depending upon the Father to be there for us.

For children of the King, overcoming abandonment issues is a slow and steady, often sporadic process. The Father provides exactly for this need.

It seems to us at times, we are left to suffer in solitary rejection. In fact, it only “seems” that way. Nothing could be further from the truth. So often we feel alone, isolated, abandoned, and misunderstood. Our hearts desperately desire someone to see, understand, and sympathize with our pain.

When you think it through, intellectually it simply makes sense that our all-knowing, eternal Father-God sees everything, knows everything, anticipates everything, and is prepared for everything. The Father selectively intervenes where He thinks best. The Bible is replete with stories and parables of this remarkable life-changing fact.

But knowing that what we believe is true is entirely different from experiencing the truth we believe.

“As children of a sovereign God, we are never victims of our circumstances. God does not want us to run away from our problems, but to face them with His help” (Stanley).

REFLECT & PRAY

We are not alone or abandoned. The Father knows and empathizes with our pain. He feels it as if it were His own.

Father in the depths of my heartache and pain I feel so alone. I know I am not alone because Your Word tells me otherwise. May I draw near to You that You may draw near to me.

INSIGHT

The problem of lint. When new bath towels are purchased, often they must be washed repeatedly before all the lint is gone. This provides a practical life lesson for us.

Repeatedly we are encouraged to approach the Father without fear of recrimination. He is open and longing to receive us.

Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

However, there may be some lint that needs to be removed to eliminate impediments. Several Scriptures suggest that this is frequently a problem.

Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven once and for all, and all known lint is removed. But as we go through life things began to bubble up that we did not know about. It is part of The Father’s refining process for us. That is why we are to be continually and repeatedly cleansed by the blood of Christ.

1 John 1:7-9

 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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