1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
In the beginning of Psalm 139, David wrote about how well God knows him. It is evident from David’s choice of words that the knowledge God has of him is both wonderful and incomprehensible.
David describes God’s knowledge of his actions, thoughts, words, movements, and life’s path.
God’s Omniscience of Us All
The same detailed knowledge God has of David, He has of all His creations. His omniscience means that He knows everything.
Security In God’s Omniscience
We can all find great security in God, knowing that He knows everything and is sovereign. Therefore, we need not be embarrassed or fearful about facing mental health challenges in our lives.
For instance, God already knew that I would face bipolar disorder even before I was knitted in my mother’s womb. He knew every detail of how I would react to this part of my life, that I would return to a relationship with Him as an adult, and find in Him guidance, hope, and healing.
Also, He had already prepared the way for me to overcome any weapons that would form as a result of living life. I find great security in the fact that bipolar has never taken over because of God. God prepared the way for me to walk in victory over any diagnosis, chemical imbalance, or anything that I would have to face.
Thankfully, by His grace, I walk in freedom through bipolar trials, and life and abundance are available to me through the power of Jesus’ blood.
One day, when every trial and tribulation is over, I will be eternally with my Lord and Savior.
I pray that you will find security In God’s knowledge of you.
God knows every last detail about you
God has not forgotten you
God is never confused about you
God understands you
God has His hand on you
Nothing about you has escaped His knowledge
God is not caught off guard about anything concerning you
Finally, you don’t have to live in despair or fear. Your hope, healing, and deliverance from the sadness and symptoms of mental health challenges can be found in God’s omniscience of you.
He has prepared the way for you to overcome!
YOU SHOULD KNOW:
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Do you ever have an attack of condemnation that causes you to doubt God’s grace and His forgiveness of your sins? This is a normal area of doubt, but it’s not the truth to believe that if you have repented you have not been forgiven. Will the Holy Spirit help me understand God better? Let’s explore this.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Crossway Bibles 2008).
Before any of us become saved, we are wicked and will live a life separated from God for eternity. But when we turn from wickedness and unrighteous thoughts through repentance, God has compassion for us. With His compassion, He forgives our sins instantly just as He did for the wicked in Isaiah.
Coming from a sinful nature, it may be hard for many of us to understand the power of grace initially. God created grace and by His thought pattern, way, and through Jesus’ sacrifice, it causes grace to be enough for the forgiveness of sins.
Remember that repentant believers are under grace. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand God’s love and purpose for grace. When you understand how much God loves you, you will rest assured that the free gift of grace through faith is sufficient for the forgiveness of your sins and you personally.
Just as we have little understanding of the heavens, we have minimal understanding of God’s ways and thoughts. But, when we find ourselves in confusion, we can rely on the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sent to show us love, give us spiritual understanding, and peace.
Pray Today:
Dear Lord,
Please help me never underestimate your gift of grace. Lead me Holy Spirit to understand the Father’s thoughts and ways better. Lead Holy Spirit to find peace in God’s love.
Do you want to become a believer today? I’ll show you how here.
'For thus said the Lord God , the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill (Crossway Bibles, 2008).'
Do you ever feel the urge to act on temptation? You may feel the Holy Spirit say go left, but you think to ignore in rebellion and go right? Well this is how I see Israel acting in Isaiah 30:1-17. Like us, in some moments of temptation, they are making a decision to disobey.
The entire book of Isaiah speaks to the rebellion of Israel from the Lord’s covenant instructions brought through the law of Moses and their reliance on false gods and ungodly political alliances. Isaiah warns how Israel will face judgement through their exile, the admonishment of their political alliances with other nations, and those nation’s falling (The Daily Grace Co., 2017, p. 132-134).
Isaiah also speaks to hope. Hope will be found in the Lord after the exile is over. He accounts that Israel will receive their homeland back. They will also receive the promise of the coming of the Redeemer, the Messiah(The Daily Grace Co., 2017, p. 132-134).
When we don’t have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, the wrong path is easy to go down with Satan. We may actually do things that we never really believed we would. In addition we may also fall into a pattern of rebellion against God like Israel. As a result we may have to face consequences that won’t be so pleasant. They will hurt and can sometimes break us.
In verses 15-17, the Lord speaks a warning through Isaiah. He explains that “in returning to Him and rest they shall be saved” and that “in quietness and in trust they will obtain their strength.” But God knows His people very well and explains that Israel will ignore this by believing in their own strength. They will be unwilling to return to Him. They won’t find rest and strength (Crossway Bibles, 2008).
Isaiah continues on to state God’s words about what comes next. He says, “you shall flee away” and “your pursuers shall be swift.” He says, “A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill (Crossway Bibles, 2008).”
So military action will occur.The Lord will frustrate the battle. Let’s refer to verse 3 of Isaiah 30 when God says, the “protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame” and “the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation. Essentially this is a return to Egypt, who once oppressed them before they became free (Crossway Bibles, 2008).
Don’t reattach yourself to your oppressor as Israel did. Your oppressor is Satan, and His plan is eternal death for all people. But God the Father has said otherwise. He has sent a Savior for the world, named Jesus. Jesus ensures we have an eternal life.
So today, examine if you’ve received salvation or do you have a break in your relationship with the Holy Spirit. If you have gone astray, there is still time to return to God and build or rebuild that relationship with Him.
You will never regret choosing God. And He has so much love that he wants you to experience by following and knowing Him. Instead of finding yourself in a helpless war with your flesh and Satan, ask the Holy Spirit to search you and remove any behaviors not in alignment with His will. Ask Him to spiritually armor you up to follow Him and fight successfully amongst spiritual warfare.
Pray this week:
Dear Father,
My hearts desire is to be in alignment with you. Please forgive me for the times that I rebel or begin a pattern of disobedience. I want to honor you in how I live, get to know you more and experience your love. Open my eyes to the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. Order my steps dear God.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name,
Amen
Join my free prayer circle for support from a community of women who pray for one another everyday.
Do you want to become a believer today? I’ll show you how here.
Sources Used:
Evans, Tony. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary. Holman Bible Publishers, 2019.
The Daily Grace Co., et al. “Isaiah.” The Bible Handbook, edited by Jana White and Alli Turner, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 2017, pp. 132–134. Source used to understand the context of the book of Isaiah from the Holy Bible
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version: The ESV Study Bible. Crossway Bibles, 2008.
The fear and anxiety that we experience are not of the great God we serve. Many times our anxieties are imaginations that we think up to ourselves. We fester on them and eventually begin to believe them.
This is a snare. It’s a trap orchestrated by Satan. He doesn’t want us to trust God. He definitely wants us to believe that we are all alone. The enemy desires for us to be webbed into bondage by the thoughts and things that we are fearful of.
Have you ever thought of your anxieties this way?
Anxiety is not a God thing. It’s a tool to disable us from fulfilling God’s will for our lives.
Take Moses for instance. He was fearful of a speech difficulty that he struggled with. He actually didn’t believe he could effectively travel into Egypt and command Pharaoh to let the Lord’s people go.
Exodus 4:10But Moses said to the Lord , “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
Many times like Moses, all of us allow our shortcomings to disable us into fear.
But Proverbs 29:25 says, “whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Do you believe that today? God’s Word is true and never lies.
The next time you are fearful or overcome by anxiety, remember this promise of God. We don’t always know how He does it, but God protects His children. He is graceful, merciful, and kind in heart.
We can trust Him over any anxiety.
I encourage you to break free of your anxiety trap today. Go forth and persevere in the things God has called you specifically to do.
Be not afraid and remember that God remembers us in our fear. We can be reminded by that in scripture when we read that Aaron was sent with Moses to be his spokesman.
Exodus 7:1
And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.
God is always for you and will not forget you. He is your safety.
Pray this week:
Dear Lord,
Please help me to overcome my fears and anxieties. Please correct my way of thinking and remind me that you are my safe place. Build my trust in you and my resistance to any snare.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name,
Amen
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Do you want to become a believer today? I’ll show you how here.
'And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” '
I know from experience that mental illness is a long journey. Like the woman with the issue of blood, I suffered daily for years. It sometimes seemed never-ending. It became worse over time. At one point, I refused to believe that God could heal me. I had no faith that the pain, the confusion, and the anguish could weaken and become non-existent.
Among this defeat, people of prayer constantly lifted my name and my circumstances to God. Essentially, all those who prayed for me stood in the gap, praying for my relationship with God and healing. Eventually, I began to welcome God again into my everyday life. My heart began to soften.
During this time of reconciliation, I went to a conference for women. There I realized my distance from God had stripped me of my faith. At this conference, we had nightly services. During the end of one service, I went forward to the altar for prayer. I desperately wanted to be healed in my mind and free from the pain in my abdomen from anxiety.
Like the woman with the issue of blood, I pressed toward the altar. I was weak from all the pain, but I knew in my heart that going to that altar for prayer would be a declaration that I believed God could heal me. I had faith that He is mighty to heal and deliver, just like the woman with the issue of blood.
For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”
The apostle Dr. Monique Flemings, met me at the altar. She already had the discernment to pray over my mind and my abdomen. It was such a supernatural experience in the presence of God. As she prayed, she encouraged me to be set free. She told me I must believe in my healing and freedom for myself.
I did and after that prayer, I knew I was free like the woman with the issue of blood.
'And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” '
God’s power had broken through the mental stronghold that had me bound. Before the end of the conference, Dr. Flemings reminded me to stay free. And I have ever since. I have my bad days, but I am no longer in spiritual and mental bondage by bipolar 2 disorder, PTSD, depression, or anxiety.
My sister, you too are able to have the faith to believe in healing for your mind. God has not forgotten you in your pain. Having faith like the woman with the issue of blood will allow you to be free from bondage in your spirit and mind. You may still have a clinical diagnosis, depressive days, and anxious days, but you will not be in bondage by it. You can still have abundant life like God intended you to.
Finally, I have to tell you how I stay spiritually and mentally free. I fervently pray over my mind and cast down high thoughts that are lies. I also read my Bible almost daily and worship when I feel weak.
If you have been suffering for some time, choose now life without bondage. Reach out to God and receive His healing power. I suggest therapy and other mental wellness tools and strategies as well. Please know that I’m praying for you, your faith, and your strength to stay free. You got this!
Pray this week:
Dear Heavenly Father, I have suffered for so long. I have even waivered from my faith in you. I need restoration. I want to believe in your power to heal. Once I am healed from bondage I want to stay free. I desire to be well, and I confess you are my source of power and strength to be free. I place my faith in you and embrace freedom through Jesus Christ.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen
Join my free prayer circle for support from a community of women who pray for one another everyday.
Do you want to become a believer today? I’ll show you how here.
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