Sunday Morning Meds--He knows

“But the Lord knows the way of the righteous” Psalm 1

One q and a from the catechism I was raised with will stay forever in me, the first: “What is your only comfort in life and death?”

The answer begins this way: “That I am not my own, but belong to my faithful savior. . .”

It sticks to my Teflon memory because of its texture, it’s emotional color. The word of the moment here is comfort: What is your only comfort? What makes you feel in sync? What settles your nerves? offers some peace? helps you sleep? gets you over the blues?

That I am not my own but I belong to God.

Similarly, the first psalm’s final verse begins with a phrase you can pull up to your chin on a cold winter night: God knows the way of the righteous. He knows. He’s got it down. To Him, we’re no mystery. Right and wrong and good and ill is all part of a day’s work. He knows. It’s that simple, really.

That’s comforting. Because life isn’t.

When you add up the whole works it amounts to nothing more or less than a sidewalk, eighty years long maybe, that leads to a cemetery.

My father was given a nice plaque after twenty-some faithful years at the bank where he worked. Not expensive. His employers got it from a place that turns out trophies for longest putt at company golf tournaments. On its own, that plaque wasn’t worth a dime. For years after his death, I had it in the backroom. I can’t toss it.

Then we moved. Twice. Now it’s gone. Twenty-five faithful years no one remembers.

Psalm One begins with a word that’s hard to define—blessed; and it ends with a strong hint at that what blessedness actually means. Through the warp and woof of our lives it’s sweet comfort to know that God does. The Bible tells me so.

God knows. He’s not stunned or sad at anything. He gets it.

Be assured, David says, God knows the way of the righteous. He understands. Once upon a time, he was one of us, after all.

The psalm says that to be blessed is to know, in life and in death, in sickness and in health, that God knows. He knows us, knows our needs, actually knows our lives.

That’s blessed assurance.