Monday, January 8, 2018

Fully known and fully understood .......... Parables 690

October 24, 2000

Laptop computers are small enough to tuck into a briefcase. For that convenience, they are also a target for thieves, until now.

A Vancouver company has developed a unique software package. Computrace is reasonably priced and now able to catch crooks within days of their heist. This program is so effective that the FBI is using it in the United States.

When installed, Computrace is foolproof. Even if the hard drive is reformatted, a unique IP number or Internet fingerprint inside the computer cannot be erased. As soon as a thief connects to a phone line, an easily-traced signal is sent to a monitoring station, then reported to the police. Through the marvels of technology, computers now have fingerprints and can be as unique as the people who own them.

No two fingerprints are alike just as no two people are alike. We were unique without special software. While being individuals is important to our sense of value, it can make us feel isolated, as if no one really and fully understands us.

Yet there is one who does. Hebrews 4:13 says “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

If we consider that God is all-knowing, we can understand that He knows what we are doing, where we are going, even what lies ahead in our lives. It takes a bit more faith to accept Jesus’ words, that He “knows the number of hairs on our head,” however, if God is all knowing, He must know even what seems like trivia to us.

The verses prior to Hebrews 4:13 challenge us to even greater faith. They imply that God also knows “the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” A friend or close relative may know many things about us, even our dreams and hopes, but they cannot be absolutely sure of what we are thinking or exactly how we feel.

Psalm 139 is David’s cry to the all-knowing God. He says, “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my laying down; you are familiar with all my ways.”

He goes even farther, ending in worship: “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in — behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

Years ago, a strange pair of women began reading my thoughts, even the very words I was thinking. I was terrified. A godly man told me that they were likely demon-controlled. I had to agree. My experience as a child of God has shown me that when God gets into my head, it may be startling but it does not terrify me. His all-knowing power is a comfort for several reasons. 


One, I need someone to help me figure myself out. I act or respond to situations and then cannot always understand what I did or why I did it. God does and His insights are always helpful.

Second, He knows my sorrows and pain. People who know and understand how I feel can be a comfort to me, but what goes on inside me is unique. Besides, some difficulties cannot be shared with other people. Because God knows my heart, I do not feel alone.

Third, when I am misunderstood by other people, I know that God understands perfectly. He knows what I cannot seem to explain. Nothing is too complex or too vague for Him. I am comforted by His knowledge.

Most important, I can trust Him to deal with sin in me that I do not see myself. I can pray the same way David did: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Computrace is pretty good but it cannot do that!

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