It can be kind of overwhelming to grasp or even think about the all-encompassing knowledge of God. We get so stuck in this overwhelming mode that we fail to grasp or understand the import of this omniscient God for us, His children. Last week I wrote about the fact that this means He knows my name and that the fact that God knows my name is a big deal for me. There are so many more big deals that attempting to write about them will be a tall order.
I remember in my younger days living with my parents. I was the quiet one but was always found in the company of the mischievous ones. Whether at home or at school, when someone is doing something they are not supposed to do, I was there. I was not necessarily the one doing it, but somehow, I am there, completely roped in. The thing at home though, is how it seemed then that we could never do anything that our parents will not find out. It does not matter what angle of her vision this is happening; all you will hear is “I see you”. The worse was when these things do not even happen in the house and then you get back home and they, the parents, start telling you all the things you just did that you were not supposed to do. Somehow, our actions preceded us. In those days we could bet that these parents were all-knowing, and we would have won the bet because nothing can go past them.
When I think of this all-knowing attribute of God, this is what comes to my mind, “I cannot get away with anything!” He knows all there is to know about me, including things that I am not even aware of. Wow! It is quite sobering to think of. “For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes” (Jeremiah 16:17). From the time the idea of sin forms in our hearts God knows. When we ignore that little whisper in our minds that tells us we are about to commit a sin, God knows. When we come back to God and give that fake “forgive me God”, all so because we think we are smart and can outsmart God, He knows! Of course, that is foolishness and God knows our foolishness too. “God, thou knowest my foolishness; And my sins are not hid from thee” (Psalm 69:5). There is absolutely nothing we can hide from God. David in Psalm 119:168 talks about this when he said “I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.” All our ways are before Him in the sense that He knows, and He sees all.
Another thing I think about is how this God knows what every of His creation needs to survive. For animals He knows, for humans He knows. For people who live in the tropics He knows, and for those who live in the temperate or even in the polar climates, He knows. God knows every one of our needs. “Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” Even before we ask, He knows. If God can differentiate the needs of people in the tropical region from those of the temperate region, I bet He can also differentiate the needs between one person and another. Remember He knows each of us in and out and because He knows us, He knows our needs. The word of God tells us that God “shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” He will provide your needs, and He will provide my needs. My needs are not necessarily the same as yours. All these facts about God’s knowing powers and promises for us have implications for how we live our lives. They have implications for how we respond to His call.
It can be quite scary and can even make one feel uncomfortable to know that God knows about all those things we will rather keep secret. On the flip side, it can be comforting to know that this God knows all I need even when I have not asked and that He has the power to right wrongs for me. You see we serve a God who is infinite while we are finite, a God who is unlimited while we are limited, a God who knows all while we know little. The best decision one can make in life is to trust and obey this God because He has us completely covered. – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya
