NO ONE KNOWS YOU BETTER
August 20, 2006
Vespers Communion Service
Patrick Daymond
Pastoral Resident,
Fourth Presbyterian Church
Psalm 139:1–6
Ephesians 5:15–20
I would dare say that one of the most plaguing suppositions in all of human existence is an overly high estimation of human ability. While our theology suggests that in our fallen nature we are radically dependent upon God, the psychobabble of the age suggests that all that we need for ourselves we can do by ourselves. Much of this belief has been created by the architects of what we call the self-help phenomenon. It is the belief that all one needs to succeed in life can be obtained through the acquisition of knowledge based on the solutions of human experts. It is the belief that everything you ever needed to know about yourself and life’s situations can be found at your local Barnes and Noble, Borders, or public library.
Now don’t get me wrong. I think that it’s helpful that we who might not otherwise be exposed to new insights to improve the quality of our lives are able to buy a book, watch a talk show, or attend a support group to find direction. However, I do think that seeing self-help as the instrument for definitive life solutions can cause us to depend on ourselves more than we do on God.
And I believe that this familiar psalm, Psalm 139, testifies to the fact that no matter where we search for the answers to life’s question, no source has greater insight than Almighty God. I have always loved this psalm. I love it because the timing of David’s testimony is all too familiar to the human experience. It is a reflective psalm, and David’s testimony arises from surveying the flashbacks of his life.
Life teaches us that the best lessons are not learned from the seven rules, seven laws, or seven secrets brought forth by the latest bestseller. The best lessons do not arise from a gnostic knowledge base claiming to be privy to information disclosed only to a few. Life teaches us that the best lessons are born from our personal human experiences.
Experience will teach you some things that you cannot learn in the latest Chicken Soup for the Soul. Facts make one knowledgeable, but experiences make one wise. And David, as he makes this testimony in Psalm 139, is speaking not from the insights of knowledge, but from the wellsprings of wisdom. To make the distinction clear, I heard someone put it like this: “Knowledge is data based, but wisdom is experience based. Knowledge is the accumulation of information, but wisdom is prayerful, prudent, proper application of the information. Knowledge deals with the what, but wisdom deals with the why, the if, the how, and the when.”
So it is with the wisdom extracted from life experiences that we are able to harness the best lessons in life. Wisdom is what permits us to take the things we have acquired in our knowledge base and employ them successfully to handle everyday matters. And there is no greater source for wisdom than that which we acquire through our experience and relationship with God. The Bible makes it plain in Proverbs 9:10, saying that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
When given the opportunity to ask anything of God, Solomon, David’s son, asked God not for riches, power, or popularity, but he asked God for the wisdom to lead the people of God well. Solomon knew that even though he had been exposed to the best of the best growing up as the son of the king; even though he had within hands reach every imaginable resource, he knew that he could not lead without God. Even when you consider yourself to be erudite, well read, and informed, you must understand that without having a working and functional relationship with God, you cannot have true wisdom.
I can’t imagine how I would survive if everything I needed in order to be was dependent upon how much I knew. But thanks be unto God that just when I think I know it all, God shows me that he knows better and, most importantly, knows what’s best for me. That’s the realization that David has come to in Psalm 139. He says in poetic fashion, “Lord you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.”
But David’s actions did not always express this belief in the omniscience of God. David was not always a wise man. David thought that he could do things his way instead of acting in accordance with God’s direction. You see, David had a “my prerogative” mentality. You know the story. One day David spotted a beautiful lady as he was walking around on his roof. She was taking a bath, and her name was Bathsheba. And upon seeing her, David decided that she had to be his. So David propositioned Bathsheba, he lay with her, and she ended up getting pregnant. But the worse part is that Bathsheba was married. So instead of owning up to his mistake, David tried to cover up his transgression, and he had her husband killed. David thought he had it all figured out. He thought that he had touched upon all of the necessary bases. He thought that the best way to handle the situation was to attempt to cover it up.
But you see, David made a mistake that was very uncharacteristic of his normal habits. The Bible testifies to the fact that David was a praying man. In the psalms we find David frequently uttering the most beautiful prayers to God in both good and bad times. But while trying to figure out what to do about Bathsheba, not once does the scripture tells us that David consulted God. Instead of looking to the Lord, David tried to address the situation with his own method of self-help. But God knew David’s transgression and sent the prophet Nathan to confront him with his sin. And it was through David’s experiences that he came to realize that a human directive without divine intervention is a recipe for disaster.
There is nothing that we do that is not within the realm of God’s knowledge. That is why it is so important that we consult God in everything we do. God knows you and cares for you. There is not a moment that God is not thinking of you. You are always the first thing on God’s agenda. You are the apple of God’s eye and the center of God’s joy. The Bible tells us in Psalm 8 that you have been made a little lower than God, crowned with glory and honor. You have dominion over the works of your hands and all things have been put under your feet. You are the crowning and blessed achievement of God’s great creation.
And yet we sometimes act as if the one who made us does not know what’s best for us. It’s funny that even as adults we can be very childlike in our spirituality. Most children at some point develop the strange idea that, even with limited life experience, they know more than their parents. I was one of those, and as I was growing up, when my parents would try to give me direction in life, they would say things like, “You may not agree with us now, but we know what’s best for you. You’ll understand someday.” And when I look back over my life, I can say that in many instances my parents were right.
David loved the Lord with his whole heart, but early in his life he did not always trust God with all of his life circumstances. But as he grew more spiritually mature, he began to realize that God knew what was best all along. That’s why he could reflect on the mistakes of his life and declare in Psalm 139 the glory of a knowing God. And in spite of the mistakes that we make in the infant and child stages of our spirituality, God in his providential care continues to hold us with grace and use even our mistakes for his glory. When self-made solutions prove to be without salutary content or salubrious effect, when everything falls apart and you have nothing left to lean on, when self-help is no longer satisfying and books haven’t helped you escape your breaking point, when you have nothing left and no one left to turn to but God, you begin to realize that God is enough.
I once heard an interesting story about sheep in the Highlands of Scotland. I’m told that sheep often wander off into the rocks and get into places that they can’t get out of. The grass on these mountains is very sweet, and the sheep just can’t get enough. They love this grass so much that they will jump down ten or twelve feet off of a cliff just to get to it. But the problem is, once the sheep jump down, they can’t get back up, and they will bleat in distress so that the shepherd can hear and save them. But the shepherd does not save the sheep right away. The shepherd will wait for days until the sheep has eaten all of the grass and allow it to become so faint that it cannot stand. The shepherd will then put a rope around the sheep and proceed to draw it up to safety. The shepherd does not save the sheep right away because he is familiar with the sheep’s tendency to react rashly. If approached in distress, the sheep will try to save itself, run in panic, and dash over the cliff to its demise. The shepherd knows through experience the best way to handle the problem because of an intimate knowledge of the sheep.
And so it is with God—that God will allow us at times to attempt to go on without him and try to do things our own way. Sometimes God will wait until we have not a friend to depend upon, until we have used all of our available resources, until we’ve lost everything we have. And the moment we stop trying to save ourselves, God will reach down and pull us up and save us from our own self-inflicted destruction. I’m trying to make the case this evening that no one knows us better than Almighty God.
This is the source of David’s reflection in this psalm. David realized that the answer to all the mysteries of life could be found in God. God knows all about us and our circumstances. David said in verse four that even before a word was on his tongue, the Lord knew it completely. And we can be sure that God knows us because the evidence is not based on categorical imperatives, elongated allegories, or philosophical musings, for in the Bible we find the biography and evidence of a living Lord who was, in all points, tempted like we are. In the Bible we find a God who humbled himself in human flesh, who was nurtured in the womb of a woman, who hungered, thirsted, and cried as we do. He spent forty days and forty nights in the desert, surveying his options and sorting out his ministry. He was misunderstood by his family, betrayed by his disciples, and killed on a cruel cross by his enemies. God knows us and cares for us in that he bore the weight of our flesh and disclosed himself in the person of Jesus Christ.
David goes on to say in verses 5 and 6, “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.” When I think I know what’s best, it’s good to know that there is one who knows what’s better. I’m reminded of a time when I got the oil changed in my car at a place other than where I usually have this service performed. I found a place that was a little cheaper, and I figured what could be the harm. After getting the oil changed, a short while later my car begin to leak oil. It turns out that the valve in the oil pan had somehow been made bigger than what it was supposed to be.
Of course I was upset and started kicking myself for trying out an unproven source. You see, I had always taken my car for service to the dealership that manufactures my car because of their intimate knowledge of my vehicle. But instead of continuing to have my car serviced there, I looked for a cheaper way out. And I found that taking the cheap way will sometimes cost you more in future complications. So from then on, instead of trying to get the cheaper service, I took my car back to the manufacturer because I knew that it was a source I could trust.
And I believe that there is someone here this evening who too has been searching for a cheap way to solve problems, only finding that it has created even more. But hold on, for there is good news. The manufacturer and maker of all human beings has been made aware of the problem and is recalling all units. The manufacturer knows that he is not liable or at fault for the problem but is nonetheless providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge. The repair technician, Jesus, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. All that is asked of you is that you go back and reestablish your relationship with the manufacturer, God the creator, redeemer, and sustainer.
There is no issue in your life that God cannot fix. If you’re lost, God will give you new direction. If you have confusion, God will give you peace. Where there is depression, God will give you joy. Where there is fear, God will supply you with courage. And where there is doubt, God will fortify you with faith. Go back to the manufacturer and know that you can be sure that no one knows you better.