When we say that God is omniscient (all-knowing), many of us think of lofty notions. We think of how God knows how the world will end. We think of how He knows the future, how He knows how many stars are in the universe, the names and social security numbers of every person who ever lived. However, He also knows some things that hit close to home for all of us. God knows our hearts. We can keep no secrets from Him because He knows all about us:

“We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things” (1 John 3:19–20; all Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Version).

The bad news is that He knows all our darkest secrets. He knows the most horrible thoughts we have ever had, the most shameful secrets, our most selfish motives, and our most self-centered excuses. The good news is that, despite all this, He loves us anyway.

Many Christians are afraid to confess their sins, to take a searching and fearless moral inventory of their lives—even if they are confessing these things to God alone and not to another person. There is no reason to fear: He already knows our sins—our worst thoughts, words, and deeds—before we acknowledge them. We will never be able to shock Him:

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it” (Psalms 139:1–6).

He knows our sins. He knows what we have said, done, and thought. He knows our motives. He knows the deep inner hurts that may have lured us into wrong or unhealthy choices. Because He became a man in the form of Jesus Christ and experiences the full weight of temptation, He also understands:

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15–16).

Because Jesus triumphantly faced temptation, we can approach Him in trust and comfort. We can come to Him with confession and repentance because He has been there. He has experienced temptation. He has been threatened, insulted, ridiculed, falsely accused, disrespected, and so on. You name it, He has been through it.

Perhaps, while you think about your past or even a recent situation, you hear a voice in your head saying, “You should be ashamed of yourself! How could you do that? What were you thinking? You are a horrible person.” This voice may convince you that you need to punish yourself or beat yourself up inwardly before God will forgive you. That voice is not God; it is not Jesus; it is not the conviction of the Holy Spirit. That voice is the devil himself. Do not believe the lies. God does not want you to live in shame, fear, discouragement, or despair. He wants you to know that you are forgiven because Jesus walked in our shoes and died in our place.

Yes, God knows all about you: the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. He loves you all the same. His omniscience is a reason to trust Him and take comfort, knowing that He will never stop loving you no matter what.

Copyright © 2020 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.

[If you do not have a place to worship, please visit my church at http://live.intercessorchurch.com; services stream at 9:30 and 11:30 AM on Sundays, 12:00 noon on weekdays, and 6:00 PM Saturday evening (all times ET).]