SALT Challenge - Psalm 139

This week's SALT challenge was set by Lythan and she picked a fantastic topic - Psalm 139! (You can read her complete write up on the SALT blog). What an incredibly rich and deep text...to contemplate that God, the Creator of all, knows us inside and out - that is a weighty thought. I would love to put the entire Psalm here in my blog but it's on the long side so I will just encourage you to read and study it for yourself. My study Bible titled the Psalm, "God's perfect knowledge of man" and here are some of the thoughts I came away with after reading the text: God knows us intimately. The Psalm states that He knows when you sit down and when you get up, He knows my thoughts before I have them, and knows my path. Verse 2 says that He is "acquainted with all my ways." The Psalmist, David, says that "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I can not attain it." We can't hide from God. Verse 7, "where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?" God is in the heights of heaven, the depths of hell, and in the "uttermost parts of the sea." We could pray for darkness to fall upon us and yet, because night is as day to God, we will not be hidden. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. It is not by chance that you are here, that you are alive, and that you were born when you were born. The Psalm states that we are "made in secret", yet "our frames are not hidden from God" and that His "eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed." Those who love God see Him and His commands as precious and they long to be relieved of remaining sin. "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!" And this is the most profound section for me for it is almost difficult to say the words, considering the impact of what I would be asking of an Almighty God, "search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." In light of this text, may we all give serious consideration to how God sees us and if we desire to please Him. This was such a sweet Psalm to study and I struggled to figure out what I would create. I'm not a big scrapbooker and really didn't like the idea of putting my face on anything I would scrap but this Psalm is so personal, so searching that I went outside of my comfort zone not once but twice with this creation! :-) Taking some design tips from a SU! catalog, I choose to keep the layout simple, only adding the first few verses of the Psalm, a title, and my big 'ol face. This piece will serve as a blessed reminder that God knows me, there's nothing I can hide, therefore I can go to Him confidently, through Christ, with my struggles as I praise Him for His goodness and grace in my life. May you all be richly blessed by the beautiful creations the rest of the SALT team have created. Please take a peek and if you're feeling inspired, post a comment along with a link back to something you're made based on Psalm 139. We'd love to share!