Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  Hebrews 4:13

 

In his book, God Works the Night Shift, Ron Mehl recalls the first game of the basketball season when his Bible school team played the smartest kids in the league, the Cal Tech squad.  “Cal Tech may not have been the most talented basketball team in our league,” says Ron, adding, “but they were the smartest.”

At the half time, Ron’s coach asked the coach from Cal Tech if he could see the shot chart.  “Sure,” replied the coach, pointing to a Cal Tech student sitting in the bleachers.  “He’s got it.”   Ron’s coach sent him to get it.  And what happened?  The Cal Tech student who was responsible for making the shot chart said, “Look, I haven’t made up the chart yet, okay?”  Ron was rebuffed.  Why not?  “When the game’s over, I’ll sit down and recall in my mind every shot that was taken, where on the court it was taken from, and circle it if it was a score… Okay?  Any other questions?”  Discussion ended.  That kid had every shot in the game stored in his head.  Was he brainy or just obstinate?  There are a few bright individuals who have brains like a computer.  They just don’t forget.  (Ron Mehl, God Works the Night Shift, p. 46),

If a bright college student from memory could plot the shots made in a basketball game, should it be thought strange that God Himself could keep track of everything we do, everything that takes place on planet Earth?

The Bible says that God is all-knowing.  Omniscient is the term scholars use.   God knows everything.  “Everything?” you ask.  That’s what the Bible says.   The letter to the Hebrews puts it, “He knows about everyone, everywhere. Everything about us is bare and wide open to the all-seeing eyes of our living God; nothing can be hidden from him to whom we must explain all that we have done” (Hebrews 4:13, Living Bible).

As Charles Woodbridge put it, “He knows what keeps the planets in their orbits.  He knows the sparrow that falls to the ground and the violet that lifts its dainty head in the forest.  Above all, He knows you, intimately, personally, vitally.  He knows your thoughts, words and deeds, and loves you still” (Charles Woodbridge, Handbook of Christian Truth, p. 54).

“OK,” someone is asking, “does this mean that God knows everything I do, everything I think?” You may not like the answer, which the writer of Hebrews gave long ago, but it’s the straight edge of truth.  Here it is.  “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).  Did you grasp the inclusiveness of that phrase, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight”?

“But I don’t believe that!” you may say.  It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not.  It’s true.  In our day, scientists have put satellites in orbit with cameras whose telephoto lenses are so powerful they can actually read the fine print of a book from outer space.  If man can do that, God shouldn’t have any problem keeping track of us.

Now, that thought would be pretty scary apart from one powerful truth.  There is forgiveness with God.  David put it, “But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (Psalm 130:4, KJV).  No, God isn’t a spy in the sky, recording your every failure and transgression. But He knows, and He remembers.  The good side of this is that God also knows and understands your needs, your heartache, your pain, and your cares.  He also remembers when others forget and take you for granted.  Thank God.  He never forgets.  What an awesome, marvelous God.

Resource reading: Job 38:1-41