God is described as omniscient, a long word meaning that He knows everything. Ps 139 reminds us that this knowledge extends to us; God knows our thoughts before they become words and our intentions before they become actions. This knowledge can be both reassuring and terrifying, but ultimately we can be grateful for such intimate knowledge.

Often in our work situations, particularly if we work for a large corporation, we can feel unknown and unvalued. In the film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the main character (Clark Griswold) is constantly upset by the fact that his boss does not even know his name (he calls him ‘Mark’ and ‘Greaseball’, for example). Many of us feel like that, as though all our efforts and work go unnoticed. God, on the other hand, has summoned us by name (Is 43:1) and knows every hair on our heads. (Matt 10:30) We are not just a number or another nameless problem to Him; we are His sheep and He is the shepherd who goes looking for the one lost sheep.

One day, Paul says, we shall know even as we are fully known (1 Cor 13:12), but for now, we can be thankful that God knows us and still loves us!