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Read Psalm 139:1-18.
The beginning of Psalm 139 is one of my favorites. The psalmist proclaims God is always with us, and we are assured that our worth comes from God, who knows us intimately even before we are born.
As someone who did not grow up Lutheran, I found the idea of being justified by grace through faith exciting. Yet, struggling to know and understand this unconditional, unmerited love and forgiveness of God was hard. This Psalm helps. “O Lord, you have searched me and known me.” This intimate knowledge signals that God cares enough to know, see and love me.
There is nowhere that God’s love, goodness, forgiveness and grace are not present. I believe people need to know this more than ever in our world. I want everyone to know that who they are, not just how they behave or what they do, are gifts of God. I want them to know that God loves them and sees them as precious. There is comfort in being known by God. There is relief in knowing that the God the psalmist proclaims is present no matter where we abide, no matter what we do.
This message is excerpted from “Faith Reflections: Psalm 139:1-18” by Andrea L. Walker in the March 2025 Café online magazine.