If you’re entering the new year with uncertainty, you’re not alone. We will make plans, but we don’t know how they will pan out. But God does.
God is omniscient, which means He is all-knowing. He knows what is, what was, what will be, and even what might have been.
Psalm 147:4 (NIV) tells us that God "determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name."
Just over a year ago, on Christmas Day of 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched, and now, a year later, the results are blowing the minds of scientists and astronomers worldwide. This space-going infrared telescope captures previously unobservable planets, stars, and galaxies—right out to the edge of "known space" and beyond.
Astronomers estimate there are about a hundred thousand million stars in our Milky Way galaxy alone! And outside of that are millions and millions of other galaxies. Nevertheless, God knows every star, each with its own name. What knowledge! What creativity!
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Not only does He know all of this information about stars, galaxies and nebulas, but He also knows about you. That’s a fact the psalmist David marveled at over a thousand years before the birth of Christ. Psalm 139 opens with:
O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
(verses 1-4, NLT)
How impressive is that? God knows what I’m going to say before I say it. Most of the time, I don’t know what I will say next. And there have been times when I’ve said things I wish I hadn’t said. But God knows what will come out of my mouth before I even shape the words. And He never forgets anyone.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case with me! Sometimes I see someone I’ve known for years and suddenly blank on their name. That can be embarrassing.
But God knows everything about you, down to the number of hairs on your head. Now in my case, that isn’t so impressive because only about eight or nine of them exist. For some of you, however, it would be considerably more than that.
The Bible says that God knows about every little bird that falls to the ground. Why did Jesus bring those two points — about birds and the hair of our head — to our attention?
Because He wanted to reassure us that the Father cares about every detail of our lives. He said, "So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows." (Matthew 10:31, NLT).
This awesome God who created the universe and numbers the stars is vitally interested in you. What bothers you, makes your heart ache and brings tears to your eyes is of concern to God. In Psalm 56:8 (NLT), the psalmist writes, "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book."
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This means that whatever you are facing right now—or whatever you will face in the coming year—the Lord knows all about it, and He cares.
He doesn’t just see you. He sees through you.
God knows every thought we think, making it utterly preposterous to believe that we can hide something from Him. Our denials, rationalizations or spin jobs don’t fool him. Whether you have lived a godly or ungodly life will be revealed in time.
Nothing catches God by surprise. Isaiah 46:10 (NLT) says, "Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish."
You can take a step of faith today and set your fear aside. God knows your tomorrow. In fact, He is already there, getting things ready for you with every resource you need. Best of all, He will be your Guide, Companion and Counselor every step of the way—from here to eternity.
In Psalm 139:17-18 (TLB), David sums up his thoughts: "How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking about me!"
Like David, we can place our unknown future in the hands of a knowing and loving Lord.
