Thank you for joining me today. It is my desire that your intimacy in relationship with the Lord, knowledge of the Scriptures and revelation of what He has for you will be enhanced because of your willingness to search out and study the Word of God. Eric

Have you ever been in a situation where there were no known answers, no clear directives, no clear paths, no surety of anyone understanding or being able to truly help direct or guide you through? Have you been in a place where no one could actually ‘know’ or ‘understand’ what you were dealing with, what you were feeling, how you were feeling, or know and realize how the pain you were experiencing was affecting you?

In our world today, we constantly see or hear of dear individuals who are physically, emotionally, or spiritually broken; those who are seeking help from all kinds of sources. There are a number of avenues taken that will hopefully provide answers, give some hope, or lead to a light at the end of the tunnel. There are psychologists, psychiatrists, therapist, counselors, doctors, the internet, TV shows, i.e. Dr. Phil or Dr. Oz, or maybe a good friend who has gone through a similar experience. There are also shelves full of self-help books.

Some of these avenues could provide some comfort, help, and encouragement. In fact, in the Christian world, we are commanded to help bear one another’s burdens. And yet, for each of us, even as those who are following Christ, we are not the ultimate answer for those facing these circumstances or struggles.

We will not fully know and understand what another individual is going through, because we do not ‘feel’ their pain, we cannot read their mind, we cannot totally understand what another is going through, or comprehend how they are feeling because we are not them in the inside, looking out. No two individuals react the same in whatever circumstance they are dealing with.

With the Lord’s help or intervention, He can lead us into how to pray for someone and encourage us to love them as unconditionally as we can. I trust we will respond to each other in that way. Realize this, the only (actual) sure help we can give them is channeled through us by the Spirit of God, as He leads us in how to effectively intercede to the Father on their behalf and allow His Spirit to minister to them through us.

We are all unique in our experiences. Each of us is formed into who we are through the various things ‘we’ have experienced - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We have all made choices in our lives which brought about the experiences we have had. The Lord works with each of us as the unique individual He has created us to be! There is only one you! There is only one me!

Books have been written to ‘help’ men and women understand each other as opposite sexes, and even though there can be some helpful information available in these resources, the physical and hormonal differences (even between one man and the next, or one woman and the next) are too numerous and overwhelming to make this a true possibility.

During a surgery I had a number of years ago, a nerve was damaged which caused me to be very ill. Many doctors I encountered over a ten month period of time, could not diagnose what they had never encountered or experienced. Finally, a doctor at the Mayo Clinic was able to put the symptoms together, recognize the problem, and make a correct diagnosis. At that point, I was able to get the proper medication which could help control the symptoms until the nerve healed. Praise God!

Apart from our own experiences or education, we cannot possibly know and understand each other completely.

In fact, I will go so far as to say that many times, we do not even fully understand what is going on with us ourselves! The apostle Paul penned these words in Romans 7:15, “I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.”

Also, we see what is revealed in Jeremiah 10:23 (AMP), “ O LORD, I know that the path of [life of] a man is not in himself; It is not within [the limited ability of] man [even one at his best] to choose and direct his steps [in life].”

Here is the crux of the matter, when we need someone who knows and understands us physically, emotionally, and spiritually, there is only One we can go to. Psalm 139 verses 1 through 16 (BSB) reveals Who that One is, “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways. 4. Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD. 5 You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle by the farthest sea, 10 even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”- 12 even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You. 13 For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when i was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.”

In verse 2, bin, the Hebrew word translated, ‘understand’ means: to know, and to be acquainted with. God knows our thoughts! ‘Thoughts’ (rea, according to the Gesenises’ Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon means: will, purpose and aim. In verse 3, ‘search out’ means: to know intimately, then the word ‘aware’ means knows. “All my ways” means every action or undertaking.

He knows our will, purpose, and aim, He knows all of our ways, every undertaking and every action we take, intimately!

How amazing that He knows us so intimately!!

Looking at verses 13 through 15 again, we see that He not simply knows us, but He created, formed, knitted and wove us together!

It gets even better! He created us, knows all about us, and has a plan for our lives! Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) reads. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Kingdom Dynamics in the New Spirit Filled Life Bible give us this added insight: “We are wise to make life’s most important decisions by considering how God thinks about us. God always believes the very best about us. He see us as righteous in Christ and He thinks about us with nothing but unconditional, unlimited love. (He spoke the words penned in Jeremiah 29:11 to the Israelites when they were being punished and carried away by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon).”

Jeremiah 1:4 and 5, “The LORD gave me this message: 5 "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations."

Ephesians 1:4 (ESV) reveals a mind boggling truth, “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love.” ‘Chose’, eklegomai in the Greek, means: set us apart as dear to himself and whom he has rendered, through faith in Christ, citizens in the Messianic Kingdom. His desire for you and I is that through faith in Christ, we would be a part of His family! And amazingly, He has had that desire for us since before the foundation of the world!

Then, we read in 2 Timothy 1:9, “ For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time--to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” Astounding! None of us deserve it, but…God!

God, our Creator, knows absolutely everything about you - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He knew us even before we were born. In His omniscience, He knows everything from eternity past to eternity future!

Job 34:21, “"For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do.”

Psalm 147:5 (ESV), “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” ‘Understanding’ means wisdom and intelligence and ‘beyond measure’ means infinite or absolute. His wisdom and intelligence is infinite and absolute!

Romans 11:33 and 34 (NASB20), “Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?”

We honestly cannot comprehend the wisdom and knowledge of God! Nor can we fathom that He is omniscient and omnipotent!

Hebrews 4:13, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.”

His knowledge of us goes beyond what is going on in the physical realm. Look at what the following Scriptures reveal:

Jeremiah 11:20a (NASB20), “ But, LORD of armies, who judges righteously, Who puts the feelings and the heart to the test,” ‘Test’ means to examine. ‘Feelings’, kitya in the Hebrew means: seat of emotions and affections, involving character. ‘Heart’, leb, is a specific reference to moral character. He examines our emotions and affections and our character!

1 Chronicles 28:9b reads. “For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought.”

Proverbs 16:2 (Amp), “All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions], But the LORD weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth].” He is totally aware of the motives and intents of our hearts!

Jeremiah 16:17 (ESV), “For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.”

Psalm 44:21b, “for he knows the secrets of every heart.”

These Scriptures prove unequivocally god’s omniscience! Apart from God, man’s knowledge is very limited.

From reading Psalm 139, we understand that the Lord knows when we sit or stand, our thoughts, and what we are going to say before we say it. However, when we read what the Psalmist wrote in verse 6 we see, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand.”

The knowledge we have is only partial, as we see in 1 Corinthians 13:9, “Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!

We do not know what tomorrow brings let alone the future. Proverbs 27:1 reveals, “Don't brag about tomorrow, since you don't know what the day will bring.”

Often, what we think according to our own limited knowledge and understanding leads us to death. Proverbs 16:25, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”

One day, we will know and understand fully. I Corinthians 13:12, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” What an exciting day that will be!

However, until that day comes, there is only One Ultimate Counselor we can go to to find the knowledge and wisdom that will lead to life.

We must seek God, directly through His Word. Also, we can be helped through mature believers who can hear the voice of God and are led by His Spirit and the Word . God gave us each other so we that can help one another, encourage one other, and build one other up.

I will end with these Scriptures:

Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”

James 1:5, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”

1 Corinthians 2:6 and 7, “Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God--his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.”

I would love to hear from you.

Please feel free to share if you know of someone who would be encouraged or helped by this teaching.

Until next time, may the Lord fill you with His peace, love, strength, and wisdom every day.

Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture is taken from the New Living Translation.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

Amp Amplified Bible

ESV English Standard Version

NASB20 New American Standard Bible 2020