Psalm 139:7-12 Modern English Version
7 Where shall I go from Your spirit,
or where shall I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell at the end of the sea,
10 even there Your hand shall guide me,
and Your right hand shall take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light shall be as night about me,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to You,
but the night shines as the day,
for the darkness is like light to You.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
What’s a new adventure you hope to experience this year?
Is there a place you’re excited about traveling to visit, a new skill you’d like to learn, or a project or role you desperately want to start at work or at church?
No matter what kind of adventure it is, you probably feel a mix of both excitement and fear because of all the responsibility, uncertainty involved.
The fear may be causing you to hesitate, but don’t let fear take over.
If you have prayed for God’s guidance to make the best decisions, and you sense God leading you to go on that adventure, you can move forward with confidence even while still feeling afraid.
Psalm 139:9-10 vividly describes why you can be confident: God will go with you, God will be with you, God will shield you all time anytime and anywhere!
There’s no time of day or night when God won’t be with you.
There’s no place you can go where God won’t be with you.
What are the five extreme environments?
Examples of extreme environments include the geographical poles, very arid deserts, volcanoes, deep ocean trenches, upper atmosphere, outer space, and the environments of every planet in the Solar System except the Earth.
https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/earths-most-extreme-towns
Psalm 139:7-12Expanded Bible
7 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?
Where can I ·run [flee] from you?
8 If I ·go [climb] up to the heavens, you are there.
If I ·lie down [spread out; make my bed] in ·the grave [L Sheol; C the grave or the underworld], you are there.
9 If I rise with the ·sun in the east [L wings of the dawn]
and settle in the ·west beyond [L back of] the sea,
10 even there ·you [L your hand] would guide me.
With your right hand you would ·hold [grab; seize] me.
11 I could say, “The darkness will ·hide [cover] me.
Let the light around me turn into night.”
12 But even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night ·is as light as [shines like] the day;
darkness and light are the same to you.
As these verses point out, even if you leave as soon as the dawn of a new day or go somewhere far away like overseas, you will always still be in God’s hands.
Adventures are vital for your spiritual growth.
Any trip or class you want to take, any professional or volunteer opportunity to serve in new ways, Acts 1:8 spread the Gospel to all points of a compass, is truly worth praying over and planning for the day God leads you to move forward.
Staying in your comfort zone won’t help you grow closer to God, but adventures will! When you step into an adventure, you realize you cannot do it alone, which motivates you to look for, seek after, God’s own presence to connect with him.
An adventure stretches your faith so it can become more resilient.
As you travel somewhere new, you can see the vastness of the world God created and discover more about how unlimited God’s love and power are.
If you take on a new project at work, you can discover talents God tucked away inside you that never would have surfaced if you hadn’t worked on that project.
If you serve people, your neighbor’s, in a new way at church, you can experience the blessings of experiencing God’s love flow through your life in fresh ways.
Whenever you start a new adventure – whenever you “rise on the wings of the dawn” – you can count on God to show up on time to meet you.
Wherever “the far side of the sea” is for you, you don’t have to worry about what might happen there, because God will go there with you.
An adventure may lead you to a new schedule or take you to a new place on a map, but God doesn’t just give you a schedule and a map and then leave you alone to figure it out.
These verses promise that God’s hand will “hold you fast.”
God isn’t watching you from a distance.
God is walking beside you as your personal guide, no matter when and where you go.
So, pray on an adventure with God sometime soon!
If you take a risk and feel like an impostor, don’t worry, because God will hold you fast.
If you start a new journey and feel afraid of what might happen along the way, God will hold you fast.
You can afford to be brave because you have your loving and powerful Heavenly Father right beside you.
Don’t let the fear of the “far side of the sea” keep you stuck on the shore.
The dawn is rising, and God is already there, waiting to guide you on a new adventure that will bless you!
Intersecting Faith & Life:
As you consider why it’s important to go on adventures and to trust God to go with you, reflect on these questions:
- What’s one adventure (like a trip or a project) you’ve been putting off because of fear of what might happen if you moved forward?
- Looking back at a past challenge, how can you see now that God was holding your hand when you were in the middle of that challenge?
- In what ways do you find it easier to trust yourself rather than trusting God when your circumstances are comfortable?
- How does the idea that God will be there for you anytime and anywhere change your perspective on taking risks?
- What’s one step you can take this week to move toward the next adventure God is calling you to go on?
Psalm 139:1-6 is a profound declaration of God’s complete and intimate knowledge of us.
The psalmist, David, acknowledges that God sees every aspect of our lives—our actions, thoughts, and even our unspoken words.
It is awe-inspiring to think that God knows us so thoroughly; not just the surface level but the innermost depths of our hearts and minds.
There is no place in our lives where God’s gaze does not reach.
This all-knowing nature of God reminds us that we cannot hide from Him, yet it also assures us of His constant presence and care.
This recognition of God’s omniscience invites us to approach Him with sacred humility.
We don’t need to pretend or hide parts of ourselves.
There is comfort in knowing that God understands us fully, even when we struggle to understand ourselves.
His perfect knowledge of us is an important reminder that we can trust Him completely with our lives. The psalmist’s declaration also shows us that God is actively involved in every detail of our lives—nothing escapes His attention.
This brings us (John 14:27) Shalom, knowing we are never alone in our journey.
“In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” ….
Praying …..
God’s Works and Word
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
19 The heavens ·declare [recount; narrate] the glory [C the manifest presence] of God,
and the ·skies [firmament; dome; Gen. 1:6] ·announce [speak out] ·what his hands have made [L the works of his hands].
2 Day after day they ·tell the story [L bubble/pour forth speech];
night after night they ·tell it again [L declare knowledge].
3 They have no speech or words;
they have no voice to be heard.
4 But their ·message [L line] goes out through all the world;
their words go ·everywhere on [L to the ends of the] earth.
·The sky [Heaven; L In them] is like a ·home [L tent] for the sun.
5 The sun comes out like a bridegroom from his ·bedroom [L wedding chamber].
It rejoices like an ·athlete [strong man] eager to run a race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the ·sky [heavens]
and ·follows its path [L its circuit is] to the other end.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7 The ·teachings [laws; instructions] of the Lord are perfect;
they ·give new strength [T revive the soul].
The ·rules [testimonies] of the Lord ·can be trusted [are faithful/sure];
they make ·plain [simpleminded; immature] people wise [Prov. 1:4].
8 The orders of the Lord are ·right [virtuous];
·they make people happy [L rejoicing the heart].
The commands of the Lord are pure;
·they light up the way [L giving light to the eyes].
9 ·Respect [Fear] for the Lord [Prov. 1:7] is ·good [pure];
it will ·last [endure] forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are ·completely [altogether] ·right [righteous].
10 They are ·worth [desired; coveted] more than gold,
even ·the purest [fine] gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the ·finest honey [L droppings of the honeycomb].
11 By them your servant is warned.
·Keeping [Observing] them brings great reward.
12 ·People cannot [L Who can…?] ·see [detect; L understand] their own ·mistakes [errors].
·Forgive [Clear] me for my ·secret [hidden] sins.
13 ·Keep me [L Restrain your servant] from ·the sins of pride [proud thoughts];
don’t let them ·rule [dominate] me.
Then I can be pure
and innocent of the greatest of sins.
14 ·I hope my ·words [L The words of my mouth] and ·thoughts [meditations of my heart] ·please [L be before] you.
Lord, you are my Rock, ·the one who saves me [L and my redeemer].
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 