He Knows Because He's Near

"Are they not in Your book?" Ps. 56:8

I know that God is all-knowing. The Scriptures testify of His omniscience. He knew me before the womb; He knows my coming and going; before a word can roll off my tongue, He knows it in full. So obviously, He has everything recorded in His book (Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:2-4, 16). 

Surely God keeps score of everything. Certainly He keeps track of all my mess-ups. He knows each of my failures, every one of my terribly bad decisions. Unfortunately, my wicked thoughts are not news to Him. And while this is an accurate assumption, it is not the complete picture, nor is it even what this verse is addressing. 

Let's start with some gospel clarification. For those hidden in Christ, we must remember that our sins, all of them - past, present, and future, have been atoned for through the precious blood of Jesus (Psalm 103:12, Romans 5:6-11). God does not have a set of heavenly scales for which we will be measured by. That is to say, we are not getting into heaven because our good deeds somehow outweigh our hideous sins. Truly, we are entering into the eternal presence of the Father through the perfect sacrifice of the Son or we're not entering His rest at all. We get in by way of the cross or we don’t get in. Christ absorbed the wrath of God, the due punishment for our sins, when He hung on Calvary's tree. There He took on our sin that we might be clothed in His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 61:10, Revelation 6:9-11).

So if God is not up in heaven's press box, negatively grading me for my on-field performance, what is exactly is He writing down in His book. Well, let's look at all of verse 8 together.

"You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in Your bottle.

Are they not in Your book?" Psalm 56:8

Now, it stinks that we even have tears to be caught. Yet, the fact is heartache, anxiety, and disappointment attacks us at every turn. This is the reality of fallen world living. But consider this: God sees; He knows; He is aware of our struggle! All our sleepless nights, every time we weep, when the burden is too great, He sees. He captures each drop we cry, records every agonizing hour we face.

But how can He do this if He is far removed from us? Friend, as you proceed through the rest of your week, know that He is near. He is not some distant deity. When the weight of life seems too much to bear, remind your heart that His omnipresence covers your city, office, neighborhood, and home. He is closer than you feel and writing in His book, much more than we might imagine. "Are these hard times not in His book?" They are. So let us rest in this truth, that we might trust Him more. May we find peace in His presence and be encouraged by the sweet thought that He knows because He's near.

Matt Fowler
Associate Pastor of Missions & Students
matt@nbchurch.info
@fattmowler