Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– George Herbert
Knowing our Thoughts
We cannot see into the human heart or discern what they’re thinking (most of the time). God alone knows the human heart, just as Jesus knew the hearts of men and women (and ours!) and knew what they were thinking before they said anything. The Apostle John wrote that Jesus “needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man” (John 2:25). Jesus didn’t have to look at their faces, because He knew “their thoughts [and] said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts” (Matt 9:4)?
Knowing our Intentions
God knows our hearts so well that He even knows our intentions. That’s amazing since we ourselves might not even know our own intentions, because we can easily deceive ourselves into thinking we’re doing good, when it’s really bad, so God always knows, even when we do not. We can so easily judge people from what we see, rather than letting time tell us who and how this person really is. God always knows, so we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. The Bible says, “love believes all things” (1st Cor 13:7), meaning love gives people the benefit of the doubt, or “hopes all things” (1st Cor 13:7), or hopes for the best and not expecting the worst.
Knowing our Hearts
Hebrews 4:12 tells us “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12), so it can discern both the thoughts and intents of our heart, and it cuts right down into the life-giving marrow and joints. The Word of God exposes our hearts as evil (Jer 17:9), then we realize we have the wrath of God on us (John 3:36b), and so God grants us repentance (2nd Tim 2:25) through His Spirit, and the power of the gospel saves us (Rom 1:16; 1st Cor 1:18). And, God knew our heart, every step of the way. Thank you Lord!
Knowing it All
When Samuel the Prophet was looking at the sons of Jesse for someone to be the next king of Israel, Jesse apparently ran out of sons, however there was one more son that everyone had overlooked. Everyone but God that is, so “the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1st Sam 16:7). God knew David’s heart and that he was a man after His own heart (1st Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22). All of us would have probably chosen the wrong man because we can’t see his heart.
Conclusion
God knows everything there is to know about us, which is amazing because He still loves us anyway. How great You are God, for “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether” (Psalm 139:4), which tells me that You, oh God, know what we’re going to say, even before we say it; what we’ll think, before we even think it; and what we’ll do before we do it. Father, let us never judge by sight because we’re probably going to be wrong. We will leave that to You God.
