Our old dog—a West Highland white terrier—sleeps curled up at the foot of our bed. That’s been her place for 13 years.
Normally she doesn’t move or make a sound, but lately she’s been pawing us gently in the middle of the night. At first we thought she wanted to go outside, so we tried to accommodate her. But we realized she just wants to know we are there. She’s nearly deaf and partially blind now. She can’t see in the darkness and can’t hear us move or breathe. Naturally, she gets confused and reaches out for reassurance. So I just reach down and pat her on the head to assure her that I’m there. That’s all she wants to know. She takes a turn or two, settles down, and goes back to sleep.
“Where can I flee from your presence?†David asked God (Ps. 139:7). David took this as an immense comfort. “If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,†he noted. “Even the darkness will not be dark to you†(vv. 9-12).
Lost in darkness? Grieving, fearful, guilty, doubting, discouraged? Not sure of God? The darkness is not dark to Him. Though unseen, He is at hand. He has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you†(Heb. 13:5). Reach out your hand for His. He is there.
In Psalm 139 David invites us to meditate on who God is and how that affects us personally. David is perplexed by God’s omniscience—that He knows everything about him (vv. 1-4). He is assured by God’s omnipresence—that He is ever-present and will never leave or forsake him (vv. 5-12). And he is overwhelmed by His omnipotence—that He is the all-powerful Creator who created him (vv. 13-18). In today’s reading (vv. 7-12), David speaks of a God who is always there to lead, hold, and protect him. There is no place where he is beyond His care, and even before he was conceived God showed His love for him (vv. 13-16). Mindful of all this, David prayed a prayer of loyalty and commitment (vv. 23-24).
