So far, I’ve never met anyone who was picked first in middle school gym class. In fact, when I quiz folks, most say they got picked last for the basketball, volleyball, or baseball team. Now, you might be the exception. But I’m telling you, most of us—we got picked last!
But I’m guessing at some point, somewhere, even the gym class standouts among us didn’t get picked first for something! It might have happened at work, in a volunteer organization, or in a friendship circle, but somewhere you were overlooked for the promotion, marginalized in the competition, left out of the social event, or abandoned by so-called close colleagues or friends.
Abandonment, in particular, is a heavy emotion. It’s especially challenging when we’re hurting or in crisis. Why, often, when in pain, it can feel as if no one notices, no one is there for us, that we've been forgotten, forsaken, left out, deserted—even by God. Though few believers admit it, at times we've felt deserted by the Divine. David certainly felt this way. In 1 Samuel 21:15-22:2, David flees his enemies, escaping to the cave of Adullam. In this darkened place, David ventilates his utter distress and abandonment. Psalm 13 captures David’s voice:
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” (Psalm 13:1-2).
Ever felt that way? I have. Yet David goes on in Psalm 13 to push through his abandonment toward an affirmation of God’s embrace, nevertheless.
“But I trust in your unfailing love [Oh God]; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me” (Psalm 13:5-6).
David’s affirmation of God’s embrace expands throughout the Psalms, reaching a crescendo in Psalm 139. If ever there was a Psalm that cements God’s promise not to forsake, marginalize, bypass, desert, forget, or abandon us, it’s this great song of the Divine. Others may walk out, but God always walks in; though others may not pick us, God always picks us, for we are God's beloved, God’s chosen. As we move through Psalm 139, David details the nature of God’s promise—God’s embrace—on our lives.
Initially, we discover that God’s embrace arises out of God’s comprehensive awareness of us, for...
God Knows Us Totally...Intimately
The idea of knowledge is dominant in our text, appearing seven times in verses 1-2, 4, 6, 14, and twice in verse 23.
God knows when we sit and rise (vs. 2). God knows our words, even before they’re spoken (vs. 4). God knows our innermost parts, our very hearts (vs. 14). God knows our anxious thoughts (vs. 23).
In sum: God is no stranger—far from it! God knows us better than any other entity in the universe!
So, “go figure,” if God is intimate with us, we can be intimate with God. Amid feelings of abandonment and marginalization, we can connect with God as our closest confidant, sharing with Him the rejection and disappointment of our lives. Jesus alludes to this in John 15:
“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5 NRSVUE)
The word “abide” in John 15 is a rich concept; literally, it means connection—dependence—continuance. Thus, our relationship with the Divine is far from surface; it’s deep and interwoven, resulting, in due time, in Christ taking over our lives. Paul underscores this in Galatians 2:20:
“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 NET)
Traditionally that last phrase is translated: “The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” But the Greek word for faith, pistis, can also be translated as faithfulness, which I believe is the better rendering, for it underscores that our embrace of God in Christ is only possible because of God’s prior embrace of us, itemized in Psalm 139 and elsewhere; we’re intimate with God because God first chose to know us and touch our lives.
But also form our lives. God’s embrace rises also out of God’s masterful crafting of each of us, for...
God Creates Us Intentionally...Skillfully
Psalm 139:13-18 itemizes God’s intentionality and precision.
God knit us together in our mother’s womb (vs. 13). God made us fearfully and wonderfully (vs. 14). God wove us together in the depths of the earth (vs. 15). God ordained our days (vs. 16.). God is thoughtful toward us and all creation (vs. 17). God’s thoughtfulness is especially striking.
Years ago, Presbyterian pastor and U.S. Senate Chaplain Lloyd Ogilvie told of a week when rejection and despair consumed him. Dialoguing with a friend, he offered Lloyd a wish: “Lloyd, I want your life to be as beautiful as it was in the mind of God when God first thought of you.” And with that, Ogilvie was apprehended. Turning to God later in prayer, Ogilvie asked: “God, what were you thinking when you first thought of me? What did you intend for my life?” Ever ask that question—what did God intend for your life? What did God think when God first thought of you?
According to a recent study from Queen’s University, the average person thinks about 6,200 thoughts per day. And of those thoughts, other researchers contend, 80% are negative and 95% are repetitive. No wonder we struggle with feelings of discouragement, despair, and abandonment! But what if we thought of ourselves the way God first thought of us, as persons intentionally made (vs. 13), as persons formed with wonder (vs. 14), as persons ordained with calling and purpose (vs. 16)? Why, our lives would drastically change, for what we dwell on is what we become. The writer of Proverbs is sure of this:
“As [a person] thinks within himself, so he [or she] is.” (Proverbs 24:7 NIV, alt. trans.)
Thus, not surprisingly, Scripture constantly encourages us to think Godly thoughts.
“From now on, brothers and sisters, “if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8 CEB)
In other words, think of yourself the way God first thought of you!
Well, lastly, God’s embrace arises out of God’s persistent companionship and accompaniment, for...
God Pursues Us Relentlessly...Attentively
What other conclusion can you come to? At the heart of Psalm 139, David piles on example after example of God’s focused, hounding presence.
"Where can I go from your Spirit [or] flee from your presence [O God]? (vs. 7). If I go to the heavens, You are there (vs. 8). If I go to the very depths, You are there (vs. 8). If I rise at dawn, if I go to the far side of the sea, You are there (vs. 9). If I go to the darkest place and the most dismal circumstance, You are there” (vs. 11-12).
God is inescapable! Others may exit our lives, but God never exits our lives. As Corrie Ten Boom puts it, “no matter how deep the pit, God is deeper yet.”
“I fled Him, down the arches of the years. I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways of my own mind; and in the mist of tears I hid from him. … Still with unhurrying chase, and unperturbed pace, deliberate speed, majestic instancy, came on the following Feet, and a Voice, above their beat.”
The voice, the feet? God’s voice and God’s feet, in hot pursuit of each of us, no matter what we’ve done, no matter what we’ve become!
Bottom line: God keeps showing up when we least expect it, demonstrating an unfailing embrace, a resolute faithfulness, a love that just never lets go. My college experience was at Towson University, in Towson, Maryland. My freshman year at Towson was especially trying. Along with the expected adjustments were feelings of being marginalized and left out; I just wasn’t fitting in. The result: frustration and discouragement. But then, one Saturday morning, I looked out my dorm window and saw what I thought was a hometown car—a Hagerstown, Maryland car. But not just any Hagerstown car—an old, beat-up Mercury Comet car—my father’s car. And then I saw him; my dad was inside! Rushing out to the curb, I just looked at him. “What are you doing here?” “Oh,” Dad said, “I just was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop in.” Far from it—he had driven all the way from Hagerstown to Towson–just to drop in. Why? Because he sensed I needed him. And I did. That visit, my father’s visit, had a definite impact my freshman year, making a difference as I felt left out and discouraged.
Our parent God also wants to make a difference when we feel left out and discouraged. He wants to offer His accompaniment and embrace. And so, look for God out your window, for God does drop by when we least expect it or deserve it—not because it’s convenient, but because He is faithful, always going the distance. For God Knows Us Totally...Intimately. God Creates Us Intentionally...Skillfully. God Pursues Us Relentlessly...Attentively. In a world that picks us last, God picks us first, walking in when others walk out.
And so, embrace the God who embraces you! For our God is a God of initiative, intimacy, and devotion who’s inescapable. Others may exit our lives, but God never exits; He never lets go. God is always in “hot pursuit,” unyielding in His desire to saturate our 6,200 daily thoughts with His very first thought of us—a good thought, of you and me as people, incredibly precious, deeply loved, and very much...chosen!
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