Who is the God we serve? We refer to Him by many names. One of them is El Shaddai (God Almighty). We also refer to Him as being Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient. Yet if we are honest, we often behave as though we do not believe this is true. What do I mean? My focus in this article is God's omniscience, His knowledge of all things.
God Sees All
We believe God sees all. There are many scriptures that attest to this fact. Job has this to say:
“He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.” Job 28:10
And God Himself spoke of His infinite sight to Isaiah:
“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:“ Isaiah 46:10
There is nothing God does not see. From eternity past, God saw and can see the future.
God Knows All
“He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” Psalm 147:4-5
What is it that God does not know? If He was able to create and name every planet and star, what can’t He do? As Isaiah tells us above, God knows because He knew from the beginning! His knowledge is without bounds! This is what He told Jeremiah:
“Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4-5
God has knowledge of everyone who ever lived and will ever live. And He has knowledge of each hair on everyone’s head!
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:30
No One Can Speak for God
There are times when people behave very presumptuous toward God. They speak as though they need to tell God what to do. One would think they can read His mind. It’s like “God did this but meant to do that” or to say “This is what He really meant”. Who are we to presume such? If we didn’t say or think these things, would God have said this to Isaiah?
“Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counseller hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?” Isaiah 40:13-14
Job asked his friends this question during their council:
“Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?” Job 37:16
God does not require our help. Yet we need His at all times!
God’s Totality in All Things
“For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.” Psalm 139:4
David understood how complete God’s omniscience is. There is not a word anyone can ever say that He has not already heard. There is no thought or action that He is not already aware of, even before our birth.
“For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.” Job 34:21
The End from the Beginning
Here is the main thought. God is all in all. He knows all and sees all. Not just as it happens, but before the foundation of the world. Since we believe that is the case, consider this… While considering the creation of all things, God peered down through eternity future and looked on Adam, Eve and every human that would be born. He heard every word we would speak. He saw every thought we would have and every action we would take. He heard every prayer and saw every yes or no decision to God’s Love Gift, Jesus Christ. He saw the moment of every birth and every death.
He Did it All!
In that moment, God responded! He does not wait for everyone to be born to take action. He is God! He already knew. He took action then! He responded to every action. He answered every prayer. He opened and/or closed every door. He handed out every blessing and every curse. Everything that needed to be done, He did before the world was made! What was there to stop Him? What sense would it make for God to be doing everything on the fly when He knew the end from the beginning?
There is Nothing to Hard!
Some reading this might find that last section a bit of a chew. But ponder the heading of this section and the witnessing verse below…
“Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:” Jeremiah 32:17
Why doubt that God has already done everything and now waits for the fulfillment of all? He set all things in motion and the angels assigned wait for the process of time to enact His desire.
You Think He Doesn’t Already Know?
Remember, we already explored the fact that God knows because He knew from the beginning! So do you think anything we think, say, or do is a mystery to God?
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.“ Hebrews 4:12-13
“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3
“For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.” Job 34:21-22
It’s Already Done for Us!
Remember how in Matthew 6:8, Jesus said the Father knows what we need before we ask? See the wonder in this? If we believe, we already have what we ask for. It was done before we asked because He heard us ask in His foreknowledge! This is somewhat of an aside, but The Lord’s Prayer capitalizes on this by focusing our thoughts on the Father and others. As we bless the Father and pray for the needs of others, their prayers for us fulfill our needs. This is our blueprint for getting prayers answered! It shows God our faith in His omniscience and fulfills the command for us to love one another and look on the things of others.
“Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Philippians 2:4
God Waits for Us
Let me conclude with this thought. God does not wait for us. We wait on Him in the sense that we are bound by time and have to walk into His will. For the same reasons already mentioned, He fulfilled all in eternity past. So let’s go forward seeing God as the wonder He is. He is not confined by time and space. He is greater than our finite thoughts can imagine. He is God and there is none like Him!
“I know He can do all things, and no thought can be held from Him. For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heaven; He carves out the rivers among the rocks; and his eyes see every precious thing. With him is wisdom and strength, he has counsel and understanding. Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His.” (Reworded from Job 8:10, 12:13, 28:24, 42:2, Daniel 2:20)
I hope this post was helpful. Thank you for visiting!