Knows Me Best and Loves Me Most!

         Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking at the funeral of a man, John Flanders, who, in the opinion of everyone, was much too young to die. He left his parents, his wife, his children, and his grandchildren, as well as a long, long list of friends. For my text I read most of Psalm 139, the Psalm that clearly tells us that God knows each one of us very well, that we keep no secrets from Him, try as we might, and that God ordained the days of each our lives, long before time began. Listen to some of what the Psalmist had to say:

          O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up. Thou dost understand my thoughts from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, and art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all. Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, and laid Thy hand upon me. For thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb. My frame was not hidden from Thee, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depth of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.

          The songwriters (Bill & Gloria Gaither) wrote a song that contains this line: “The One who knows us best loves us most!” What an incredible truth! The One who knows every single about us, even the things that we wouldn’t want anyone to know, is the One who loves us best. Talk about grace & mercy!

          When the storms of life are raging, there is something amazingly comforting about knowing that the One who knows us best loves us most, and that One is none other than God, Himself. This truth enables every believer to view the tragedies of this life, even the “premature” death of someone we deeply love, through a set of lenses that allow us to see beyond the moment of pain and grief, into the joy of knowing that God really does cause all things to work together for good, for those who love Him, and are the called according to His purpose.

          He really does make all things beautiful in His time, and His time is never premature and never late.

          "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).