“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 4:13)
The Lord knows us – whether we want Him to or not. If the deepest places of the earth, hid from the sight of men, are before God’s eyes, how much more does He know what lies beneath the surface of every life? “Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?” (Prov. 15:11)
Solomon needed the help of God to discern which of the two women was the mother of the living child (1 Kings 3). He knew that God knew. “… For thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men” (2 Chron. 6:30). Job came to the conclusion that “no thought can be withholden from thee” (Job 42:2). Try as they might, or wishfully believe, men cannot hide, even their most secret thoughts, from God’s searching eyes. “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). “Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart” (Ps. 44:21).
But although God intimately knows us, whether we like it or not, He takes little pleasure in what He sees in the mass of mankind. What He takes pleasure in is those who are willing to be known by Him. These are only those who have been washed in the blood of His Son. They have been made fit to stand in His presence, both to know Him and be known by Him. They do not hang back in shame like Adam and Eve in the garden. He has called them out of darkness and into His marvelous light. They want His inspection. They want the washing of the water of His Word. They trust that He knows them better than they know themselves, and intends to transform them from glory to glory into His own beautiful image.
Knowing God is only one side of the saint’s quest for intimacy with Him. The other side is being known by Him. Don’t be afraid of God’s eyes upon you. Let Him see you as you are. He already knows you – inside and out.