He knows our frame. Psalm 103:14
In the early days of the automobile, a Model-T Ford stalled in the middle of the road. The driver couldn’t get it started no matter how hard he cranked or what adjustments he tried to make.
Just then a limousine pulled up behind him, and a wiry, energetic man stepped out from the back seat and offered his assistance. After looking under the hood and tinkering with something for a few moments, the stranger said, “Now try it!” Immediately the engine leaped to life and purred like a kitten.
Extending his hand to the driver, the well-dressed man identified himself as Henry Ford. “I designed and built these cars,” he said, “so I know what to do when something goes wrong.”
In Psalm 139, David said that God, who created us and has planned our lives, understands us completely. He knows when we sit down and when we rise up, and He knows our thoughts even before they come into our minds. We can turn to Him with confidence when nothing seems to be going right. He knows the difficulty of our situation and exactly what we need because “His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5).
How comforting that God understands!
God understands your heartache,
He knows the bitter pain;
O trust Him in the darkness,
You cannot trust in vain. —Smith
The One who made you
is the One who can mend you.
1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. 5 You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.
Insight
A parallel to this passage on God’s understanding is seen in Hebrews 4:15. The writer says that Jesus is able to understand our suffering because He has personally been touched with the feeling of our pain. Instead of a human high priest who is aloof and distant, we have a heavenly High Priest who thoroughly understands the pain of life that we endure.
