Written by PJ Thomas
The Word
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
Psalm 139:1
9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NIV)
Reflection
There are several theories about how people develop a sense of themselves. One may suggest that we come to understand who we are when our thoughts and actions are reflected back to us from caregivers and those we trust. For caregivers to accurately reflect that to us they need to spend time with us and be curious about our experience. Our caregivers, despite their best efforts, are human, With their limited knowledge and shortcomings they inevitably get it wrong. This contributes to that sense of not knowing ourselves and confusion about our own actions that we all feel from time to time.
So when we define our identity by our culture, profession, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, gender, or disability (among other identities we hold), we only have part of the story. These identities reflect the extent of human knowledge about who we are. But God’s knowledge exceeds this because he is omniscient and knows us intimately.
In Psalm 139 and Jeremiah 17, the same root word yada is used to describe how God can know us. Both passages describe how God knows us better than ourselves. Although we may say we know someone like we know ourselves, or know someone better than they know themselves, this is an exaggeration. We can only know what people know to tell us. We only know others as they reveal what they know about themselves.
Application
How can we then know what our full identity is? As Pastor Ji stated in his sermon, we know who we are by being known by God. Our identity can be found in what God reflects to you about yourself and your value when you seek Him in prayer, follow His commandments, meditate on His word, and fellowship with His people.
Prayer
Lord, as David prayed to be known in Psalm 139, I also pray that You search me and reveal myself to me. Let me know my hidden faults and my covered strengths. Lead me in the ways that I may go, so I may know the extent of my identity in You. I rejoice that I am fully known because You are God, and I rejoice that I am fully loved because Your son Jesus died for me. In Jesus’ name, amen!
City Life Starter 
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