"O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit or stand. When far away you know my every thought. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I'm going to say before I even say it. You both precede and follow me and place your hand of blessing on my head." Psalm 139:1-5 (TLB)
Have you ever wished you could read minds? How much easier would communication be if we never had to wonder what the people around us were thinking? The problem with it would be that we would know even the negative thoughts and be privy to things we would really rather not know. Would it help our relationships or harm them if we always knew what was on another's mind?
Good communication is of utmost importance with those that we are close to. Marriage especially is deeply effected when the partners are negligent in sharing their thoughts and feelings. It causes distance and misunderstandings when they are attempting to figure out on their own what is going through the mind and heart of their mate. Counselors stay busy trying to unravel issues that could have been avoided with adequate communication.
Another relationship that suffers is the one between parents and children. Especially when my daughter was a teenager, I longed for her to talk to me and tell me what she was thinking. I would know she was struggling with something but I had no idea what. It was frustrating because I loved her and wanted to help her through her difficult times but I had no idea what to say or do. No matter how deeply we care for another person we will never be able to be as close to them as we wish to be because we do not have the ability to truly know their mind and heart. We know only what they choose to share.
Psalm 139 says that the Lord has examined our hearts and knows our thoughts. His love for us is so great that when He created us he reserved for Himself the ability to know our every thought and feeling. He knows what we think and feel and all the reasons why. He knows what we are going to say before the words are ever uttered. If He desires to be that close to us, what should our response be?
Personally, I want Him to be honored by my thoughts. I want Him to find a clean heart and honorable attitudes. My desire is for Him to find love, sincerity, gratitude and humility when He draws near. I want Him to know that His Word is sacred to me and that I seek to keep it. I want Him to know that when I speak, the words will be honest and praise-filled. Simply put, I want to be as close to Him as He desires to be close to me. If I concentrate on fulfilling these desires then my relationships with others will be improved as well.
Life happens to each of us daily and I realize it isn't always easy to keep the lines of communication open. However, if we start with our relationship with the Lord, realizing that He has this intimacy with each of us and learn to share openly with Him, He will assist us in our relationships with our mates, children, friends, co-workers, etc. I wish everyone a blessed and peaceful week.
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