February 7, 2023
THE ALL-KNOWING GOD
Some may experience the all-knowing God as threatening. This is especially so in a world where many would like to act with impunity, getting away with evil or selfish actions. Some may even hide under the appearance of being Christians, and so long as other human beings are not looking, they yield to less-than-honorable behaviors and perpetrate injustice.
The author of Psalm 139 gives a different picture. The Psalm describes in detail how God is all-knowing. This knowledge is rather comforting and empowering for the believer. It leads to praising God (verse 14) and affirming that if God knows us well, He knows what we go through and how to take care of us. Having an all-knowing God sets God apart from us as human beings. This kind of knowledge is too high; we cannot attain it (verse 6). For the Christian believer, having an all-knowing God assures us that we are not alone—we have a wonderful Savior, Leader, Provider, and Protector. We need not be afraid. It is comforting to know that with the all-knowing God on our side, even the very hairs on our heads are all numbered. He knows that detail.
God being all-knowing is also about the sovereignty of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). He is King of Kings and Lord of lords. Above Him, there is no other. He knew us before we were born (Psalm 139:13; Jeremiah 1:5). Even before we responded to the Good News and became saved, He knew us and knew when we would become His children and conform to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
Even as we pray about critical decisions, it is good to know that we have the all-knowing God who can see beyond what we as humans (even Spirit-filled Christians) can see. Therefore, we can pray as the early apostles did when they wanted to vote for someone to replace Judas Iscariot who had been one of the twelve (Acts 1:24). He knows us through and through and knows what is in our hearts. We can’t hide anything from God.
God’s knowledge is so complete that we can only exclaim with Paul in Romans 11:33, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out.”
Because God is all-knowing, we can therefore pray confidently, knowing that we have an omniscient God who is with us and who will never leave us nor forsake us. A God who knows us through and through and loves us anyway. So let us continue praying confidently for our walk with Him to be faithful. This Sovereign Lord knows our challenges in Africa. He cares about us so let us continue to forge the knowledge of Him across Africa. Let us pray for Africans on the continent and Africans in the Diaspora, confident that our ALL-KNOWING GOD can do far more than we can ever request.