“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.”
Psalms 139:1-3 ESV
Lately I've been thinking a lot about living a life surrendered to God's will. I don't know about you, but surrendering my own will during the holidays can be especially challenging. I'm a huge fan and proponent of family traditions, and when plans change and interfere with my own expectations of what the holidays should look like, I get cranky, irritable, and inevitably, I find myself wanting to manipulate or control the situation.
Lately I've been thinking a lot about living a life surrendered to God's will. I don't know about you, but surrendering my own will during the holidays can be especially challenging. I'm a huge fan and proponent of family traditions, and when plans change and interfere with my own expectations of what the holidays should look like, I get cranky, irritable, and inevitably, I find myself wanting to manipulate or control the situation.
Christmas is a busy and challenging time for many of us. We travel, we bake, we go to parties, and often we find ourselves trying to present the best version of ourselves. Either to impress others or to keep from being hurt again, we can wear a shield around our hearts during the holidays. We don’t always let those around us know our true selves. We can feel unseen, rejected, and unknown.
That's why I love these verses from the Psalms so much. It is so comforting to know that there is One who fully knows us, no matter our circumstances. He knows our hearts, the joys, the hurts, the fears. He knows, and He is with us.
For those of us who are grieving, He knows.
For those of us who fear the family get togethers, He knows.
For those of us who struggle with the busyness or the hustle and bustle, He knows.
He knows all of us, right where we are.
For those who love the season, and are ready to celebrate, He knows you, too.
Joyous or grieving, He knows, and He is there.
For those of us who desire to live surrendered to His will, living in this place of feeling known is so crucial. When we feel unseen and unknown, He knows our deepest places. He sees our deepest hurts. He is there. As we head into places where we feel the need for armor, we know that He is with us. When we are misunderstood by others, when we simply desire for others to know our hearts, we can be confident that there is One who truly knows, who will always know. Even the broken and awful pieces of us are seen by Him, and yet He chose to love us anyway. Living the surrendered life becomes so much easier when we truly grasp that we are known and we are loved.
A prayer for the surrendered heart at Christmastime:
Lord, we thank you that you see us and you know us. You see the ugly and the beautiful, the sadness and the joy. You see it all. You came to earth as a baby and lived the joys and hurts of this human life. You chose us for your own. In this season when we celebrate your birth, we choose to surrender to you. When we see grieving, help us to comfort. When we see pain, help us to heal. When we see joy, help us to celebrate. In it all, help us to see You.
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