I Am Known And Loved

I recently decided to start a long-term self-guided retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. I have been blessed by the design and goal of the exercises, whose primary focus is relationship with the Lord, and greater awareness of His presence in our lives. Continuing my journey through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises - Day 5, week 1, the meditation today is from:

Psalm 139:1-18 NIV:
[1] "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
[2] You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
[3] You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
[4] Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
[5] You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
[6] Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
[7] Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
[8] If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
[9] If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
[10] even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
[11] If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
[12] even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
[13] For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
[14] I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
[15] My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
[16] Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
[17] How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
[18] Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand---when I awake, I am still with you."

I have always enjoyed Psalm 139, for it speaks of the Lord's intimate knowledge of me. I sometimes lose sight of the fact that He knows everything about me, every thought, idea, action, desire, plan, purpose or intention. He is not surprised by me, is not ashamed of me, and He created me. He knows everything He has put in me, every gift, every purpose I was created to fulfill, every ability and capability. As David says, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

There is a saying - familiarity breeds contempt - but that is definitely not the case with the Lord. He knows us, everything about us, and this causes Him to love us all the more, for His purpose is intimately intertwined with who we are, and He is with us as we become the very people He created us to be. Our very existance brings Him Glory, for we bear His image and likeness (Gen 1:27).

Finally , He is everywhere, all around us, constantly present. There is no place we can go, no separation available, for He is present always. Any feelings of abandonment, or separation are only on my part, never on His. He does not set us adrift in our lives waiting for us to come back to Him, instead He is present every day of our life, whether we are walking in fellowship with Him or not, constantly present. This is evidence of His desire to develop an intimate relationship with us, one we can always turn to. My desire is to be more aware of His presence, to live my life in such a way that I reflect that awareness and intimacy, and draw others into their own awareness of His presence, and His desire for intimate relationship.

I guess to summarize, I am known and loved by God, who is always present!