I’ve been corresponding for a while with someone who has been having some rather difficult times in their life, and who really didn’t have a good understanding of Who God is.

I have been trying to help them find comfort through God, through His Word, and I have been trying to help them find and learn about His Mercy, His Love and His Grace, and His never ending presence in our lives. 

And I have been encouraging them to pray and to seek comfort from God, and to ask Him for understanding and His wisdom through all the things that are going on in their life.

At first it was difficult for this person to do that.  Because, throughout this persons life, particularly in their growing up years as a young person, they had been taught that there is a God, but that God does not really understand us as human beings, and that God really doesn’t know what is going on in our lives, and the one thing that was deeply instilled in this person as a youngster was that God really doesn’t know us very well at all. 

Through many prayers, and through God’s loving mercy He brought about an understanding of Who He is through His Word with this person, and they have finally found peace, love, comfort and understanding in their life.  

Two weeks ago this person wrote to me, thanking me for helping them and thanking me for leading them on a path to a better way of life.  And they accepted Christ as their own personal Lord and Saviour. 

I responded to this person and told them that although I appreciated their thoughtful gratitude, that is was ultimately God Who worked in their lives to bring a better understanding to them, and it is He Who deserves all the glory, praise, credit and thanks.

Just this week, I received another letter from this person, telling me that all the struggles they have had – all the difficult and trying times – and all the seemingly endless whirlwind of problems have gone away and peace and comfort now rules their heart.

There was something in this person’s last letter that I was totally unaware of throughout the time I was trying to help them find a better life with God. 

They told me that many times, especially within the last couple of months they had seriously considered taking their life and simply putting an end to it all.  But that now, those thoughts are also gone and that desire is no longer there. 

I would like to read part of what this person wrote to me in this most recent letter that I received.

At the end of their letter, they included this.

Through all of the knowledge and understanding that God has given me in recent months, I have found that no matter how deep the darkness in my life becomes someone always has it worse than me.  No matter how unhappy, depressed, or unsatisfied I may become, I can know how truly blessed I am.  

 I have learned that God is always with me. Through the good & through the bad, through monumental events or even the most trivial thing He is always there.  

I have learned how blessed I truly am.  It's amazing all that I have learned and all that God has shown me.  

I can't put into words how what you have helped me with, means to me.  But I thank you, and most of all, I Thank God for His presence in my life. 

I know now that God DOES know me better than I even know myself, and I know now that God IS always with me, no matter what.  I also know now that God loves me, in spite of myself. 

For a long time, I tried to hide from God and I thought that God was hiding from me and wanted nothing to do with me, and that He didn’t care, and that is when I considered ending my life, but now I know that all those thoughts were wrong, and for the first time in my life I am truly happy and am looking forward to my future.

May God always have a smile on His Face for you my friend. 

Thank You and May God Bless You.

Until just recently, this person went through life feeling empty, feeling inadequate, feeling like nobody noticed them or cared about them, and that there was no way out of difficult situations except to endure them. 

And when their life went completely dark and no light shone around them, the only way out they saw was to end it all.

They never understood that God was always with them.  They never understood that God knew every thing about them – even before they were born.  They never realized just how much God loved them or appreciated them – and that He never took them for granted.

Just recently God turned the lights back on in their life and gave them a new and better understanding of Who He is, and What He can do in their life.  And now they have a new direction, a new purpose in life, and a new and exciting outlook for their future.

You know, God is with us - all the time and we are never alone, we don't have to be afraid, we don’t have to try to hide away from God and we don't have to wonder where God is -  because He is not hiding from us.

God knows us – He knows us (like the person wrote in their letter) "even better than we sometimes know ourselves".

God’s knowledge of us and of our struggles is nearly impossible to put into words even. But Listen to some of what the Bible tells us about God's knowledge:

He knows how much hair you have on your head.
 
Luke 12:7,  “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

 He knows your words before you even speak them.
 
Psalm 139:4,  “Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD.”

He knows your thoughts before you think them.
 
Psalm 139:2,  “You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar.”

He knows your prayers before you pray them.
 
Matthew 6:8,  “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

He knows everything you are going to do this afternoon, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, and every moment of every day.
 
Psalm 139:16,  “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

He records every word you say and will some day call you accountable for every careless, thoughtless, unkind and un-Christian like comment.
 
Matthew 12:36,  “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of  judgment for every careless word they have spoken.”

 He hears every whispered word and will one day will shout them from the rooftops.
 
Luke 12:3,  “What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”

God knows all things perfectly, He knows not one thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well.

• He never discovers anything,
• He is never surprised by anything,
• He is never amazed or caught off-guard by anything.
• He never wonders about anything nor has to stop and figure things out.

God truly knows it all, and particularly when it comes to who we really are.
 
There is a clarification we must have when we talk about the all-knowing character of God:

First, God's knowledge is not like ours. God's knowledge is not limited.

Secondly, His knowledge is not learned as ours is. God did not have to go to kindergarten to learn the ABC's or 123’s. What God knows He has always known.
 
Third, His knowledge is complete and certain. God's knowledge is not like what you might find in a set of encyclopedias - - - He needs no "yearly update" and nothing ever changes.

And, HE KNOWS WHO WE ARE:

He knows our Secrets:

If God knows everything, it means that He knows all those things that we were hoping no one would every know or find out.

He knows the things we have done, the things we have thought, and he knows our true intentions.
 
In Jeremiah 16:17 we read, "My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes."
 
Many times we spend a good deal of time trying to create a good image. We are masters of putting a good "spin" on whatever we have done or are doing.
 
In some ways, we are not much different from the politicians who take opinion polls and then adjust their positions accordingly.

They stage events that will bring positive news coverage at strategic times on their behalf. They work hard to cover failures and poor choices.

And sometimes we act in a similar manner.  We can cover up our “real selves” from those around us, and we can put on a cloak of deception, but we cannot cover up or keep ourselves from God.  We cannot – no matter how hard we try – keep something from our all knowing Lord and Saviour.

Truth is, a lot of folks will try though.

I have had people tell me that if God REALLY knew who they were – what they thought – what they have done or are doing – what they have said or say, that God would want nothing to do with them, so they try to appear as good as possible.

Now, maybe they (through a wrong understanding, or through a wrong non-Biblical instruction) believe this to be so, and believe it is possible to deceive God, but it is the furtherest thing from being the truth. 

God DOES know – and even though He knows – He still calls them to Himself – loves them and He is still ready, willing and able to accept them no matter what.

We can hide what we dream about and fantasize about from each other – but we cannot hide it from God.

We can hide the envy, resentment, revenge, and bitterness towards someone that poisons our soul -  from others – but we cannot hide it from God.

We can hide the way we try to manipulate situations and circumstances from others with our seemingly innocent and often pious words – but we cannot hide it from God.
 
We can hide the way we seek to destroy someone’s character with a carefully placed simple negative statement or comment – but we cannot hide it from God.

We can hide the way we misrepresent ourselves in the eyes of others, to make ourselves look better than we really are – but we cannot hide it from God.
 
God knows. And these things, as well as many other things we can oftentimes hide from those around us – but nothing is, or can be hidden from God.

But you know, God is not just keeping track of, and noticing the vile and wicked parts of our lives. God also knows the pain. One of the things that makes us feel most isolated in life is the feeling that no one understands – no one cares.

People may be kind and well meaning . . . but they don't really understand us. But God does.

He knows your disappointments.
 
He knows the depth of your losses.
 
He knows about the way others have hurt you, and used you.
 
He knows about the times you have felt the betrayal of someone close to you.
 
He knows about false accusations levied against you.

He knows your struggles – and your pain as a result of your struggles.
 
He knows about those times when you felt you were overlooked when you tried to do something good, kind and decent for someone else.

He knows about the times you worked really hard to help someone only to learn later that they did not appreciate it.
 
When you feel that no one understands you, notices you or appreciates you. God does. In fact, ONLY God really understands. Only God knows all the details, all the variables, all the circumstances, all the time. He is the only one with all the information.

Sometimes, through my ministry, I come across folks who are trying to deal with the heartache, pain and grief of the loss of a loved one.  I have stood in funeral homes with mothers and fathers who mourned over the loss of a life so little and so young.  I have sat for long periods of time offering words of comfort to husbands, wives, sons, daughters, sisters, and brothers of loved ones who suddenly found themselves alone, and grieving the loss of someone they loved.
 
And sometimes, and because I have lost loved ones in my life I have been tempted to comment to them that "I understand what you are going through."

But I don’t do that because I don't fully understand. Each loss is different. The loss is greater or lesser based on the nature of the relationship.

You don't know how two people really felt about each other.

You don't know what they have shared.

You don’t know where their journey through life had taken them. 

You don’t know how many valley’s they had to endure or how many mountains they had to climb together. 

You can't know the dreams they were longing to see fulfilled.

You see, there is no way for us to really understand.

But God knows - God Understands because He was there with them all the way and He has all that information, and it is only He Who can bring true comfort through that knowledge and through His love.

He does understand. When you really think about it, you will realize that He understands you and all of life’s circumstances even better than you do.
 
Not a single tear is shed that goes unnoticed by God.
 
Not a single fear is overlooked or pushed aside by God.
 
And not one pain has to be endured alone – because God is always with us.

God not only knows your secrets and scars, heartache and fears -  He also knows of your service. God is the note-taking heavenly observer.

He knows about the time you bit your tongue when you could have contributed to a rumor.

He takes notice every time you greet a stranger or visit a person who is confined to their home through a physical infirmity or illness, or just lonely for companionship, or when you take the time to visit someone in the hospital or in prison.

Every secret act of character, conviction, and courage has been observed in living color by our loving Lord and Saviour.

Isn't that good news? All those times you did something right and it seemed that no one noticed - - - God did.
 
Those times you really were trying to do the right thing but things didn't go as expected, and you felt unappreciated . . . God knew your heart, and He appreciated your loving kindness.
 
All those times when you worked hard and thought it was for nothing . . . it wasn't - - - because God noticed.

Often we, as a people feel forgotten and unappreciated. But God doesn’t forget, and God is an appreciative God.

“The Audience of One Doesn't Miss a Thing”

No act of love in His name is ever missed or overlooked.

Maybe what you do for and in His Name doesn’t seem important to you.  Maybe there are little things you do, that you feel aren’t being noticed by those around you, and because of that you may feel what you do is unimportant.

But everything done with and for the Love of our Precious Lord, IS important to Him.

Maybe you are the one who arrives at church before anyone else, and works hard to get things ready and up and running so that services run smoothly – and maybe you don’t think anyone appreciates your service, and doesn’t notice - But God Does.

Maybe you’re the one who dedicates your time and efforts to come in and clean up the church and make sure everything is in it’s proper place, and maybe you feel this goes unnoticed - God notices.

Maybe you’re the one who sits behind the computer and makes sure that the words for our praise and Worship time are projected on the wall behind me in an orderly and timely manner.  And maybe you don’t think anyone notices or appreciates your service - But God does.

Maybe you’re the one who stands up here each and every Sunday morning and leads us in our praise and worship service and maybe sometimes you feel as though what you did isn’t noticed or appreciated - But God notices and He appreciates it.

Maybe you’re the one who takes the children over to the next room and teaches them about God, and maybe sometimes you feel as though your sacrifice and service goes unnoticed and unappreciated - But God notices and God appreciates it.

Maybe you’re the one who over sees the nursery, and maybe you feel like that sacrifice and service goes unnoticed and unappreciated - But God notices and God appreciates you for it.

Maybe you’re the one who faithfully stops by to visit those who are shut in or hospitalized, or who are lonely and are in need of a friend, or have unselfishly prepared a meal for someone, and maybe you have felt you weren’t noticed or appreciated for your acts of kindness, love, care and compassion - But God notices.

Maybe you’re the one who took it upon your heart to sit with someone and share a tear over their loss, and grieve with them and offer comfort to them, and maybe you were left wondering if it was worth it - Yes, it was because God thought so.

Maybe you have sacrificed your time and dedicated yourself to a particular ministry and maybe sometimes you feel as though it isn’t worth it because nobody notices or appreciates your service to the Lord in that capacity - But God notices and He appreciates it.
 
Anything you do, no matter how big or how small, out of love, and in His Service is always noticed and appreciated by God.  He knows, He sees, and He will reward you for the things you do.

God not only knows us . . . and not only knows what we do – but He knows our situation. God has the big picture. He sees what you and I do not see. He knows the unknowable.

He knows your Where You're Headed. For most of us, life is a mystery. It's like driving in the fog . . . you can only see so far ahead, and you cannot see what is around the bend or over the hill ahead of you. We live our lives - but our plans are all somewhat tentative because we don't know what surprise is around the next bend or over the next hill. But God does and it comes as no surprise to Him.

God knows where He is taking your life and what it is that He is using you to accomplish for His purpose. He sees the big picture.

Even though we may not see where things are going . . . God's knowledge and love assures us that we are not just wandering aimlessly. God has a plan. He knows what were, are and will become. He knows what obstacles we will have to overcome.

And He can see through the fog and God knows the way home no matter how lost we feel.

He knows Why we sometimes suffer. I believe with all my heart that suffering is not for nothing. I don't think the pains of life are simply the results of arbitrary events.

God allows the hurts and the pains for a reason. Often, we aren't able to understand many of these things . . . we can't see what is beyond this life. But God can.

God sees the purpose . . . He is the one who understands what is so baffling to us. God alone has the eternal perspective.

It is like when you have to take your children for their vaccinations when they are little. As a parent, you know the reason for those shots. You are preparing your child to survive in a world of disease.

You willingly take your child to the Doctor who will inflict the pain. And you do so because you see the big picture.

The child's perspective is different. They may feel they have been betrayed, abused, some of my children have even accused me of setting them up.

They may wonder if their parent really loves them . . . because if we did how could we allow such things to take place?

It is because we know what is best for them, and what will be most beneficial for them to live a long and healthy life.   The child doesn't understand that even the pain has come because of love.

People will try to argue all the time:  “If God loves us so much, and if He knows everything there is to know – WHY doesn’t He do something to eliminate my pain, heartache, suffering, trials and strife?  And why doesn’t He just make life like a bed of roses?”

I cannot stand here today and tell you on a personal level why God doesn’t choose to grant you a life of nothing but peace, comfort and satisfaction.  I cannot tell you what God’s plans and purposes are for you.

But what I can tell you with absolute certainty is that what He allows in your life – He does so out of Love.  Sometimes – the pain comes because of our Fathers love.
 
He wants you to learn, He wants you to grow – and most of all He wants you to come to Him.

When we are wounded and feeling the ache of loss or disappointment we must remind ourselves that God has an answer to the question "Why?"

We may not understand, but that doesn't mean there is no answer.

God knows what is best and God has the answers because He is an ALL KNOWING GOD.

When we don’t understand life and why certain situations arise we sometimes turn our attention away from and loose focus on God.  We turn instead to un-meaningful and ridiculous survey polls, newsmagazines, talk-shows, and some folks even succumb to physic analogists.

These things will only lead us in a wrong direction and will never satisfy our yearning for understanding.  Only God can bring true understanding and a rightful knowledge.
 
Sometimes people will try to convince us that by reading the Bible, and searching for understanding through God’s Word that His directives are: out-of-date, narrow-minded, or unenlightened. And when we follow such advice we become misguided and set ourselves up for failure and find nothing but even more struggles and heartache.

Sometimes we choose to follow the world and the world’s misguidance rather than the one who really knows, and rather than the one who can give us what we really need.

God is ALL KNOWING and He is EVER PRESENT in our lives, and He ALWAYS will be.  It is useless to try to hide from Him, or hide our inner most feelings and thoughts – and God is NOT hiding from us either.

I suspect that all of us at one time or another have tried to bluff our way through someone who already knew the truth.

It's futile and it never works.

And the same goes with God too. There is absolutely no use to play games with God because He already knows everything.

I find it so refreshing to be able to come to God in prayer and be honest. I find enormous satisfaction and comfort in just explaining to Him what my worries and concerns are. 

I find it comforting to explain how my heart aches at times, and how deep my disappointments are.  I already know that He is very well aware of all these things.  And I already know that nothing I tell Him will come as a surprise or a shock.

I also find it comforting to know that every tear drop that runs down my face will be seen and dried by the Loving Hand of my Father in Heaven.
 
And I already know that He has a plan and a purpose and a destination for all that encompasses my life.  And even though I know He knows everything, I still know that He wants me to talk to Him about my life, and I know that through doing so, that He will give me resolve, peace, comfort and most of all – Love!

There has been times people have hurt me and I know that when that happens I can (and should) always go to God with it.  He already knows my heart before I even do it, and He already knows what I am going to say before I say it, but still I go to Him and tell Him:

I say:
 
"Lord, I know you want me to forgive people . . . but you also know that I am really hurt by what was said or done. And you know that I don't want to forgive . . . I want to get even. I want you to destroy that person Lord, and now I come before you on bended knees and I am asking you to help me to do what is right."

And every time I find myself in that frame of mind, and when I go to God in prayer – He does help me.  He helps me to be a light shinning brightly for Him and He always helps me to do the right thing.
 
He knows every thing that is on my heart and at all times, and yet He wants me to go to Him and talk to Him about it, so that He can give me peace and comfort from within, and so I can have that personal, one on one relationship with Him, and so that I can learn from my mistakes and from my misguided human ways. 

It is no use for me to try to hide anything from Him, and I don’t, and it is no use for you to do so either.  And through it all He Loves us.

Friends, you don't have to pretend to be spiritual with God and you don’t have to try to hide yourself away from Him. He knows what you've done, where you’ve been, and how you have lived your life. He knows what you think, what your going to think, what you say, what you will say, and what is truly on your heart.

He knows how you have tried to run from Him and resisted Him at times.

But still He reaches out to you – and still He loves you, and He still longs for a close personal relationship with you.

There is no love more transforming than a love that knows the truth, but loves anyhow. This is the way God loves us.

Sometimes we want to look at our past, hold on to it and dwell on all the ugliness of it, and hide it away for safe keeping.  And we wonder if God will really love us – if He knew.

But God knows what we’re trying to hide and sugarcoat and He wants us to look at our future, and what is in store for us when we meet our Saviour face to face one day.
 
Instead of looking back and trying to hide from God, and instead of trying to hide our sinful selves we should look ahead.  Instead of looking at others, we should look at Him.

The problem is that we have a much more inflated view of ourselves than we should. We suffer from selective memory. We remember the good we do and we want to showcase it . . . and at the same time we try forget the rest, and we try to hide it from God. But God sees and knows it all.
 
Fortunately, for those of us who trust Christ, we don’t have to pretend we’re somebody we’re not.  And God will reward every act of faithfulness and He will forgive all the other stuff. . . God hasn't missed a thing!

In a simple conclusion . . . if God is all-wise and knows whatever there is to know, and already knows the future . . . and alone knows the best way . . . shouldn't we listen to Him, go to Him, and accept Him as our all knowing, and always loving Lord and Master?
 
God has given us a simple plan to follow in order to do that:
 
We must repent: To "repent" means to "come clean" to stop trying to hide things from God and confess our wrong-doing and rebellion with a sincere desire to change.

We must believe: To believe is to do more than simply agree that the facts of Christianity are true. We need to recognize that Jesus was God and came to this earth in the form of a man. We need to believe that He lived a sinless life and died an undeserved death. We must believe that Jesus gave His life on the cross to pay for our rebellion. And, yes, we must believe that Jesus did rise from the dead, offering salvation and life to all who would believe.

HOWEVER, it is not enough to just believe these truths . . . we must commit ourselves to them! The belief the Bible commands is to place our confidence and hope in Christ and what He has done for us.
 
We must follow Him: Jesus told us that "if we love Him we will do what He commands”.  The true evidence of belief is a willingness to trust Christ in our everyday living, and to do whatever it is He wants us to do.
 
In light of what we have covered today I have some final thoughts to leave with you:

Will you trust God enough to:

Be honest about your life and confess your sin?

Will you place all your confidence in what God has done for you in Christ?

Will you trust Him and not your own goodness?

Will you stop worrying about your future and take God's promise as your guarantee?

Will you trust Him . . . really trust Him, today?
 
Finally, will you follow the Lord rather than the world? Will you depend on and seek His wisdom rather than the wisdom of the world?
 
Are there unresolved issues in your life where you are hanging in the balance and don’t know what to do with, or where to turn?

You know what God wants you to do . . . but you also know what you want to do . . .and you know what others encourage you to do.
 
It's a matter of who you are going to trust. Are you trusting in the ways of the world or in your own insecurities or your own methods, or are you simply hiding your issues away thinking they will go unnoticed?
 
Or are you prepared today to trust in the counsel of the all-knowing, ever-present, all wise God?

On paper the choice is obvious . . .but the question remains:

Will you trust Him?
 
I encourage you today to entrust yourself to the God who knows what He is doing – knows everything and Who knows you better than you even know yourself and to give yourself fully to the One who gave you His Son out of a desire to win
your heart.

Don’t give in to a sense that God doesn’t know you or that God doesn’t know what is best for you.  Don’t ever stop believing in the love God has for you.  Don’t think that what you do in His Name or within His Service goes unnoticed or unappreciated.  And don’t ever think for a minute that your life is worthless and that there is nothing left for you- because to God, you are worth everything. 

You are worth so much to Him and He loves you so much that He opened His arms and spread them willingly upon the Cross – and took the nails - - - for you.

I and those around you may not know what is in your heart – or where your journey through life is headed - but:

"The Audience of One, Doesn't Miss a Thing"