To Know and Be Known

It is one of the deepest desires of the human heart to know and to be known. For this reason, we seek out relationships with other people. We spend our energy and time getting to know other people and helping them know us. In many relationships, this desire is abused. A person will share parts of his/her life that he/she has never shared. He/She will feel a deep connection with his/her partner, the kind of connection that can never be broken. But then it breaks. Then it's over, and he/she is left feeling exposed. The truth is, no human relationship will ever be perfect. There will always be disappointment because humans are not capable of loving perfectly. For this reason, we must completely invest in a relationship with the only One who can know us completely and intimately. The amazing thing is that He still loves us perfectly despite knowing all of our imperfections and shortcomings. He knows how we struggle and how we screw up, but He never stops loving us and never disappoints.

There are so many wonderful words packed into Psalm 139. Here are verses 1-16 and 23-24:

1You have searched me, Lord,and you know me.2You know when I sit and when I rise;you perceive my thoughts from afar.3You discern my going out and my lying down;you are familiar with all my ways.4Before a word is on my tongueyou, Lord, know it completely.5You hem me in behind and before,and you lay your hand upon me.6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,too lofty for me to attain. 7Where can I go from your Spirit?Where can I flee from your presence?8If I go up to the heavens, you are there;if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,if I settle on the far side of the sea,10even there your hand will guide me,your right hand will hold me fast.11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide meand the light become night around me,”12even the darkness will not be dark to you;the night will shine like the day,for darkness is as light to you. 13For you created my inmost being;you knit me together in my mother’s womb.14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful,I know that full well.15My frame was not hidden from youwhen I was made in the secret place,when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.16Your eyes saw my unformed body;all the days ordained for me were written in your bookbefore one of them came to be.
23Search me, God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts.24See if there is any offensive way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting.

The beginning of the Psalm describes what it means to be intimately known. Verses 1-6 explain that God knows every action (sitting, rising, etc.). He also knows every thought and word we will speak before they are even formed in our minds and mouths. Can you imagine someone knowing you that well? At some point you might have had a friend who could finish your sentences, but this is knowing exactly what you will do and say ALL THE TIME. This is a picture of what it means to be fully known.

Although it is our desire to be known, how do we usually react when someone gets close enough to do that? We run away. It's scary to have someone know you that well because it means they know all of your flaws and mistakes. We are filled with shame, guilt, and self-consciousness. In verses 7-12, the psalmist recognizes that it is impossible to hide from God. No matter where he goes, God's presence is there. By the end of the section, he seems to shift from wanting to get away from God ("Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?") to being comforted by the thought of God's omnipresence ("Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast")(Carson, 1998). Because of our human experiences, it is scary to be known. We become too much to handle and relationships get messy. But, God is the definition of perfect love, and He does it unconditionally. His love is not dependent on your actions, your thoughts, your past, or your good deeds. Where God is concerned, we do not have to fear being known because it is accompanied by perfect love.

The third section (verses 13-16) goes even further to say not only does God know us, but He created us. The word choice of "knit" and "woven" give us a visual of God putting together the very fibers of our being, right down to the last detail. Who could know you better? Each one of us is "fearfully and wonderfully made" (v. 14). We were created uniquely and exactly as God wanted us to be. We are His masterpiece or "workmanship" (Ephesians 2:10), and He takes pride in His creation. The psalmist puts it this way: "Your works are wonderful" (v. 14). To criticize your body or to be consumed by insecurities is to say to God, "I think you made a mistake. Didn't you mean for me to be skinnier/taller/smarter/faster/fill-in-the-blank?" But how can our perfect God make a mistake? The end of the section wraps up how God knows us before we are even born. How cool is it that God knows about every single day of your life before you are born (v. 16)?

The majority of the psalm focuses on the recognition that God knows everything about our lives. However, the last two verses of the psalm seem to shift into the author showing his desire to be known. He pleas for God to "search [him] and know [his] heart...and know [his] anxious thoughts" (v. 23). We should not only acknowledge that God already knows everything about our lives, but God wants to be invited into our lives, into our thoughts, and into our selves. Only through asking Him to search us, convict us of sin, and lead us in our lives can we experience the freedom that comes with being fully known. We were created to know God and to be known by God. Let's seek to move past being ashamed and experience true intimacy with our Creator.

Work Cited

Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: A daily companion for discovering the riches of God's word. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books.

Common Questions/Misconceptions About My Life in Honduras - Part 1

Question: Do you teach in Spanish?

My school is bilingual, which means we want students to know Spanish and English when they graduate. They have many opportunities to speak Spanish in their daily lives, but school is one of the only places where many students speak English. Other than a few classes that are taught in Spanish (Literature, History of Honduras, Language, Civics, etc.), most other things at the school are in English. We require students to speak English in all non-Spanish classes.

Don't get me wrong. It is a huge advantage to be able to understand and speak Spanish. While I teach and interact with my students in English, there are times when Spanish is beneficial in my job. Here are some general examples:

As a counselor, I interact with many parents who do not speak English. They are relieved to find out they can express themselves in Spanish rather than broken English or with a translator. In this way, they feel understood and are not forced to divulge their problems to an additional person. Understanding Spanish is also beneficial when counseling students. When students are distressed, they naturally revert to their native language to express themselves. If a student is really upset, it is much easier for them to tell me what's wrong in Spanish than in English. We can then move forward to working toward a solution.

As a teacher, Spanish helps me stay on top of what's going on in my classroom. Teenagers are tricky and always testing their teachers to see boundaries and what they can get away with. If they can communicate in any way without the teacher understanding or being aware (passing notes, gestures, other languages, etc.), you better believe they will. They still get away with some things in my classroom that I wish they didn't, but at least they aren't talking about it right in front of me :)