God's Perspective - Omniscience Series

Think about all of the dumb things I have said in my life that I wish I had not said. "How could I have said that?! How dumb was that?" Because I speak in public quite a bit I have said some really dumb stuff over the years. Maybe you can relate to that. But, you know what, I never caught God by surprise. He knew what I was going to say before I even said it.

And He never stopped loving me, even when I’ve said some things I later regretted. How come He keeps on loving me? Because He is God and He is love. He chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world and He will never let go of me. What a wonderful Lord! Amen? What an awesome God!

d. God Knows What We NEED - You hem me in … you have laid your hand upon me

God not only knows what we do, what we think and what we say, He knows what we need. Because He completely knows us He knows what we need. The phrase “you have laid your hand upon me” contains a wonderful truth. To lay your hand on someone in the Old Testament was to bestow on them blessing and offer them your protection. And that’s exactly what God does for us. In laying His hand on us He is saying, “I’m here with you. I know what you need and I’m ready to help. I got this.”

God knows what you are going through. I don’t know it. The person sitting beside you may not know it but God knows it. Not only does God know it but, as we are going to talk about in the coming weeks, He is there with you through it and has the power to do something about it. I am sure that you faced many challenges in 2014, and there will be more in 2015. The good news is that God knows everything this year will throw at us and He has promised to walk with us through it all.

3. The SPECTACLE of God’s Knowledge (vs. 6) - too wonderful for me, too lofty to attain

So how should we respond to the fact of God’s omniscience? I think there are two natural responses.

First, we need to remember in humility that, while God may know everything, we do not. Isn’t it a relief to know that because God knows everything, I don’t have to. You and I do not have to have all the answers. Sometimes all we can do is trust God’s word and whisper mystery.

There are people today who, when they speak, seem to suggest that they are 100% certain of absolutely everything. Yes, there are core doctrines of the Christian faith that we all hold to be true. I am not talking about these issues. I am talking about the secondary issues – when and how will the second coming take place etc. I remember when I went to seminary. I felt I already had a very good understanding of the Bible and figured a few courses would help even more. Two masters degrees and 4 years later I left realizing how much I still did not understand. It is OK not to have all the answers.

A Bible college student came to preacher Charles Spurgeon one day, greatly concerned that he could not grasp the meaning of certain verses in the Bible. The noted preacher replied kindly but firmly, “Young man, allow me to give you this word of advice. Give the Lord credit for knowing things you don’t understand.” God knows everything!