“No escape”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, December 23, 2023
Psalm 139: 1-24 (Forward, p. 55) CEV p. 640
I wonder whether that proverbial ‘escape artist’, Jonah, had ever read this psalm, or at least, taken its message to heart. I suspect that he hadn’t taken to heart, given his determination and efforts to try to ‘escape’ from the Lord and His commands. Our psalm tells us, essentially, that there is no escaping from God. Whether in the highest mountain peaks, the deepest ocean trenches or the most distance ocean reaches, God is still there. And even, with the unborn child in the womb, God is there. There is no escaping from God. That is something that the noted apologist and theologian, C.S. Lewis, discovered for himself. God, the ‘hound of heaven’, hounds and pursues us, no matter what. And, just as much as time isn’t a matter of ‘space’ (as in time and space), it isn’t a matter of time either. God is equally with us, present and future, as well as in the past.
And this isn’t just a matter of presence, but of knowing as well. God knows us inside and out. God knows our innermost thoughts—whether we are awake or asleep, and yes, even knows what we are going to say before we can speak a word. God knows us as we really are, having ‘looked deep into our hearts’ (verse 1).
And yet, here is the most incredible thing: even knowing all this, God still loves us, cares for us and protects us. I am sure that countless ‘heroes’ of Biblical history never took this fully to heart. King David: did you realize that God was reading your heart—and your intentions—before you launched forth into that shameful and disastrous ‘episode’ with Bathsheba? And Peter, did you ever think that Jesus knew fully well what was running through your mind before you denied knowing Him? Or Judas, before betraying Him? Or Paul, before you tried ‘running down’ all His followers? God knew all that—and still reached out in love? Well, that boggles the mind and the imaginations, and should certainly cause us to rethink a lot of what each of us does in terms of our life choices! God knows, and cares, in spite of it all. There is no escaping from this love of His. Wow.
Forward notes: “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,’ Darkness is not dark to you; The night is as bright as the day; Darkness and light to you are both alike” (verses 10-11).
“Inside a tent deep in the Eastern mountains, with no moon, I have experienced complete lack of light. When I cannot see even my own fingers, I will loop my headlamp’s elastic strap around my arm when I sleep. Yet all human lights can fail.
“When light goes, my vulnerability as a human is laid bare. In the dark, I must depend on God, acknowledging that I am not in command and allowing God’s ways to guide me. Hymn writer Kathleen Thomerson paraphrases this psalm and several similar references elsewhere in the Bible in the lyrics: ‘In him there is no darkness at all. The night and the day are both alike.’ To God, darkness means nothing. I sing this hymn when I am strapping my headlamp on my arm in a very dark place.”
Moving Forward: “Spend time reflecting on the idea that darkness and light are the same to God. What are the implications of these words for your life?”