As part of our human nature, these questions often linger just beneath the surface. Does God really see me? Does He know my name, my fears, my midnight worries? Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindahl opens Psalm 139 like a treasure chest. It's filled with timeless treasures that will calm an anxious heart.
Whether you're facing uncertainty about the future, struggling with loneliness, or simply exhausted by a relentless pace, this ancient hymn speaks directly to your deepest need. This is the first in a special series leading up to Christmas. Chuck titled today's message, Our Greatest Reassurance. End of the year, messages are not easy to prepare. And part of the reason is familiarity.
Who of us has not heard the story of the Uh of the birth. And even some of the prophecies that led up to the birth of the Savior. and the events surrounding the birth at Bethlehem. The coming of the shepherds, of course, the wise man who would come later and then Ultimately, the departure to Egypt and then finally to Nazareth. I feel like that line out of how firm a foundation, what more can we say than to you we have said?
Because we say this year after year. And it often calls for some creativity. To keep it fresh and to keep the message from sounding like a a rehash of what was said last year and the year before. And five years before that. It occurred to me that this year I would do something a little different, a little more creative.
And I'm bringing a sort of a mini series. which I could call the greatest words Today we're going to think about our greatest reassurance. which to me balances out the subject of sovereignty. It is one thing to say that he is sovereign in control. In fact, if you harp on that and emphasize only that.
It can easily leave the impression, which is false. That God is distant, removed. And we are robotic in our activities, simply carrying out what he has planned. When you deal with the reassurance of his involvement, in our lives. It softens the teaching.
of sovereignty. Does it take away from the truth of his control? It gives a fuller, broader picture. That his control includes. His involvement in our everyday lives.
He knows us. He is with us. He has made us. He protects us. He cares about us.
He's touched with our feelings of weakness and infirmities. He is moved over our disappointments. And on and on we could go. These are called what I'm calling Uh our greatest uh reassurance I don't know of a better statement in all the Bible. To reassure us of God's engagement.
God's involvement in our lives. than the 139th psalm.
So if you haven't turned there already, please do so. Open your Bible to Psalm 139. And let's look at it. As an overview, let's see it all together and then we'll go into various parts of it with the time that remains. Always remember when you read the Psalm to pay attention to the superscription.
What is the superscription? It's the heading that comes alongside the title. You'll see in your Bible Psalm 139, then you will see in italics, most often, either just before or just after that, the words that read. For the chief director Or for the choir director, a Psalm of David.
So, right away, we know that this psalm has been written. by the man himself. King David. The first thing I would mention is that obviously David wrote the psalm. At some time Perhaps after he became king.
because it does reveal the wisdom of age. Rather than his earlier years, which were spent on the run. Getting away from King Saul. and his insane jealousy. Psalm 139 is a Psalm of David.
He wrote it. This psalm hangs on great truths regarding the living God. Look closer. The psalm is a prayer. See the first two words.
When you read your Bible, pay attention. To the words, the individual words. See how this have a psalm begins? Oh Lord. Look at verse 4.
Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold. Oh Lord. And if you're following that wording, look at verse 21. O Lord, It appears right in the center.
So it's a prayer, in fact, not just, O Lord. But go back. Verse 17. You will see. How precious also are your thoughts to me.
Oh God. Verse 19. Oh, that you would slay the wicked. Oh God. And then the invitation at the end, verse 23: search me.
Oh God. I have a little yellow marker, and I mark those places in my Bible when I come across them. To remind me, this is a prayer. By the way, it's a good time for me to pause and ask you this. Ever written a prayer?
All of us who know the Lord have certainly prayed. our words, we began our relationship with him. By saying to him in so many words, Lord, I give myself to you as I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe your son died for me on the cross. I believe he paid the penalty for my sins, and I accept him into my life.
Those are words of a prayer. That may have begun with O Lord or dear God. or Heavenly Father, these are words that introduce a prayer.
Now It's a great comfort to me, and I think it will be to you, to realize that in our fast-paced, ever-changing world. filled with joys as well as trials. Filled with anticipation. Blessings as well as the threat. of danger But God knows it all.
He knows it all.
So the psalm is a prayer. Obviously, because it is a psalm, Let me say thirdly, it's a song. Believe it or not, these psalms were sung by the people of God, the Jews. Long before a hymn book was ever invented or ever created. Long before there was a song sheet.
The Jews had what they called the Psalter. This was their song book. And they would sing their songs according to melodies they were taught. from ancient days. If it's a song, then it has stanzas.
And in this case, I find four stanzas in this ancient hymn. Six verses each. You'll see the end of the psalm is at verse 24.
So the four stanzas, six verses each, Come out. to 24 verses. Verses one to six. is the first stanza, and it says, in effect, God nose Everything including everything about me.
So the emphasis here is on the doctrine of God's Omissions. It's a big theological word, doesn't ever appear in the scriptures, but it means one who knows everything. He knows everything. We will get into verse 1 to 6, and we'll see that. When you get to verse 7 down through verse 12, The second stanza says, God is with me.
So this would be the doctrine of God's omnipresence The first is omniscience. He knows all. And the second, verses seven to twelve, God's omnipresence. He is everywhere, and get this. At the same time.
And at all times. As we will see, night and day are the same to him. With God there is never night. Because he is light. And in him is no darkness at all, John writes in his first letter.
In light of that. God dwells in eternal light. And he therefore When he is present, Sees everything. We'll get to that in verses 7 to 12. I love verses 13 to 18.
because they have to do with God's omnipotence. He is all-powerful. which begins in our case with conception. God was there when we were In the tiniest embryonic form in our mother's womb. And he, the psalmist, writes of that in 13 through 18.
God All-powerful. made us as he would have us be. And then the last stanza is 19 to 24. Which has to do with God's compassion. His protection.
His watch care over us. Because in a fast-paced world, we're often Feeling like either a nobody or the target of evil. Knowing that that's true. We have to be reminded again and again. that God is engaged in our lives.
I've been reading Peggy Noonan's book. the time of our lives. It's a great read. It's over 400 pages. And in it, she presents a number of the articles she has written over the last 25 and more years.
which covers quite a span of American history. In this one section, she writes, I have no time. Is it that way for you? Everyone seems so busy. All our splendor, our comfort, Takes time to pay for.
And affluence wants to increase it. It carries within it an unspoken command. More.
So we work. The more we have the more we need. And so the more you work and plan, This is odd in part because all the spare time we should have. We don't, after all, have to haul water from the creek. We don't have to kill an antelope for dinner.
I can microwave a lean cuisine in four minutes and eat it in five. I should have a lot of extra time, more, say, than. A cave woman, and yet... I do not. We invented new technologies so that work could be done efficiently, more quickly.
Wasn't that the plan? But we have less. leisure time. it seems, because these technologies encroach On our leisure time.
Something's up.
Something's up, she writes. And deep down where the body meets the soul. We're fearful. With all our comforts and amusements, and all our toys and bells and whistles. We wonder if what we really have is a first class stateroom on the Titanic.
Everything's wonderful, but The world is ending. And we sense it. We live in a world of billions of men and women and hundreds of thousands of nuclear bombs and missiles and warheads. It's a world of extraordinary germs that can be harnessed and used to kill whole populations. A world of extraordinary chemicals.
That can be harnessed and used to do the same. Billions of people. And it takes only half a dozen. evil ones to harness and deploy. What are the odds it will happen?
Put another way What are the odds? It will not. Love. non-existent. I think.
Interestingly, she wrote that before 9-11. That article was originally written November 30, 1998. Almost like a prophetess. She senses Something on the horizon. I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that you're a thinking person who wonders.
What's next? Where will I be? When that next Heavens. And where is God? when it happens.
The psalm throbs with answers. as they speak from ancient days. Words that bring comfort. to people like us who think about times like this. First stanza.
of this sacred song. Oh Lord, You have searched me and known me. Then he goes further. You know when I sit down? And when I rise up, You understand my thoughts from afar.
Not only meaning God is Far removed in his heaven, but Right here with me, you know it long before I know it. I love the next. You scrutinize my path and my lying down. And look at this. You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
No one else on the planet. qualifies. At this point. Oh, well, you may think you know your spouse. You may think you know your child.
You may have made a real study of your student. You don't know these like God knows us. He scrutinizes my path. My lying down. He's intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Every trip I take. Every thought I have Every word I speak. Every decision I make Look at verse four. Before there is a word on my tongue, O Lord. You know it all.
By the way, don't you wish you did? Before you spoke, Don't you wish Haven't you often said, why did I say that? Or why did I see that? When I said it. It wasn't appropriate or It wasn't the right time.
God is never caught up short. Listen, my friend, he knows every single Detail. about every part of you. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid your hand on me. I love that part.
In other words, you're not some distant deity that Watches over the edge of heaven and sees all of these events. You put your hand On me. There's something about a parent's. Hand. on a child's head.
That's comforting. Years ago when my Family and I would go to our little bay cottage that was owned by my maternal granddad. Not far from the town of Palacios in South Texas. The little bay where we were led out into Matagorda Bay, which ultimately moved out into the Gulf. But this little Koronkaway Bay from an Indian name Native American name, excuse me.
We've got A little bay, and the waters would be very quiet at night, and the flounder. Would come into this saltwater bay and would move up near the edge of the shore, and with their fins, they would sink down in the soft. Sand. And when you flounder, you have a gig. which is like a broom handle with spikes on the end.
and you have a Coleman lantern. That you walk along and you wave it back and forth. As you look for this little flounder, hopefully big flounder, that is hiding out, waiting to grab a shrimp. or a mullet. That's in there at the shore playing around.
acting like life is great. Until it gets in the gullet of the flounder. And so the flounder has on his mind shrimp. and you have on your mind floundered.
So You walk along with the gig and with the lantern. You're about knee-deep, maybe halfway up your thighs in water if it's clear enough. And you walk along, and you're looking for the flounder, and then when you When you get to one, You geek it. But you have to pull the lantern away because the flounder doesn't like spikes in its back when you drive it into him to get him. And so you hold the lantern back, and all the while you're hoping that the cold water doesn't splash on the Ladder and break the globe and ruin the little mantle.
Anyway, long story short, I'm walking along with my dad. And there was a point where you went around when you were floundering, where we were. And when you got beyond the point, I couldn't see the cabin lights. And that bothered me. Because it was dark.
And we only had one lantern. And a lot of flounder wanting to put that lantern out.
Somewhere down in the water. And I would say to my dad, Dad, Are we about ready to turn around? He would say, No, no, son, we're really getting underweight. I'd say, Well, I. I can't see the lights.
And he would say, son, it's okay. I said, Do you have another lantern? He goes, no, no, we just have one lantern.
So I'd say, do you have a flashlight? He would say, I don't need a flashlight. Look for the flounder. And I know he was exasperated with me because of a few things he added when he was talking to me. They're in the water, and we're walking along, swinging the lantern, and finally he does what every parent has done.
He put his hand on my head. That's all into it. It said to me. We're going to make it back. If you're with me, We're going to find our way back.
That's this song. Not only does he know all about me, He puts his hand on my head. And the knowledge, says the psalmist in verse six, is too wonderful. We would say it blows my mind. That a God who has all of these people in all of this world.
wrapped around this big globe. All of these languages and cultures And all of these races, and all of these needs, and all of the uproar, and all of the conflicts. He has his hand. on your head. That's a real comfort.
were under his care. Even when you live alone, even when you feel alone. Even when you're far removed from family and home, in your travel he is. He is right there. The prophet writes, Fear not, for I am with you.
Don't be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you at this with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41, 10. My hand is on you. You're not alone. As my child, You're never alone. And that is good news.
As a child of God, we are never alone. You're listening to Insight for Living and the first message in Schuckswindahl's Christmas series called The Greatest Words. It'll be our main focus over the next several programs as we approach Christmas Day. Stay with us because we'll hear a personal update from Chuck in just a moment. First, we want to thank you for your thoughtful feedback.
We love reading your notes, either on our social media platforms, in the mail, or through the Insight for Living website. We read every single word. and we deeply appreciate your prayers as well. For Chuck and the staff, your partnership with Insight for Living empowers our work as we prepare these programs and serve you each day. There's never been a better time to be in touch with Insight for Living.
December is a critically important month for this nonprofit ministry. It will set the course for next year as we replenish the resources needed to provide this Bible teaching ministry. Chuck? It's no secret that I'm getting up in years. The physical signs are predictable.
My eyes no longer function as they once did. and I can't run up the stairs any more. Even so. I still think I'm fifty. David wrote in Psalm thirty nine, Lord, remind me how fleeting life is, oh, so true Well, these days I find myself looking back with great reward on all God has accomplished through Insight for Living.
Even today, I'm the most surprised person in the world. to see how God has placed His hand on this ministry. from that first broadcast back in July of nineteen seventy nine until now. It's been nothing short of miraculous. But as you know, I'm not one who lives in the past.
or spends undue time fixated on nostalgia. All of us at Insight for Living believe from the bottom of our hearts That our best days are yet to come. This isn't wishful thinking. It's confidence that's squarely founded on Scripture. Listen to what Paul wrote in Philippians 1.6.
Being confident of this, That he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Do you hear that? God isn't finished with insight for living. the one who started this good work will carry it on to completion. That promise fills me with hope.
and urgency. It's urgent because we know the time is short. and for countless millions eternity hangs in the balance. People all over this world are searching for answers, for peace, for something solid to stand on. And you and I know exactly what to do.
So let's do it. Together, let's invest our resources in Insight for Living. As we do, God's Spirit will speak to unsuspecting listeners who engage with the hope of Jesus Christ for the first time. Think of it.
someone hearing the gospel, because you gave generously today. Will you join me in making that happen? Your gift before December 31st. will help us reach more people in the new year with the life-changing message of God's word. Thank you for standing with us.
and for responding today. Here's how to respond to Chuck Swindahl. To send your donation in the mail, address your envelope to InsightForLiving. Post Office Box 5000. Frisco, Texas, 75034.
Bear in mind that when you give to Insight for Living, you're not only making Chuck's teaching available on your station, but a portion of your gift is applied to sending hope and truth beyond our borders in countries where clear and practical Bible teaching is rare. Our address again is Post Office Box 5000 Frisco, Texas 75034. To give over the phone, call us at 800-772-8888. That's 800-772-8888. Or you can give online at insight.org/slash donate.
Yeah. I'm Bill Meyer, inviting you to hear Chuck Swindahl continue his message called Our Greatest Reassurance. Thursday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Our Greatest Reassurance, was copyrighted in 2015, 2016, and 2025, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2025 by Charles R. Swindahl, Inc.
All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
