Known By God

By Tim Maurice

‘Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.’ Ps 139:16

It is marvelous to contemplate God’s foreknowledge. The Psalmist here expresses the extraordinary truth – that God knows each one of us and sees the potential direction of our whole lives. This runs counter to our natural inclination to make life up as we go, as though we were given a blank canvas upon which to paint our own story.

The truth is quite other than this. God sees us as we could be, even down to the number of days. And these days are fashioned for us – crafted by the master craftsmen of the world. These days are written in God’s book – the divine record of our lives in advance. This lends great reassurance to the believer. When Christ redeems our life, he does so in order that we may live out the substance which he sees already. He redeems us to the life he wants us to live. Without his redemption I will live another life – a life of my own choosing. God also gives us the motivation, by faith, to pursue his purpose for our lives. As the apostle Paul said ‘I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.’

For this reason Paul could endure opposition. He was not living in a random universe in which things ‘just happen’. He was joyfully fulfilling the substantial life that Christ had determined for him. As he wrote to the Ephesian church: ‘For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.’

These are the good works each person must do in the days fashioned by God. Such works are specific works – done by a person with a name known by God. In doing these works we redeem the time allotted to us and, with Paul, press on to our reward. What a glorious privilege this is for all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.