Stand Up and Sit Down

Our all-mighty God is personal and close to us. He knows even the smallest details of our lives and cares for us. This is mindblowing yet so encouraging.

Stand Up and Sit Down

This week's devotions are written by my son, Bryant Forshee, Lead Student Pastor for Cross Church, Springdale, AR campus.

- Pastor Danny

"Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away."

(Psalm 139:1-2, CSB)

Happy Wednesday! On this day, I would like to give you a small glimpse into what today looks like for me: I will get up, go to work, sit in my office for a bit, have a meeting about buses, have a meeting about an event happening in 2025, have lunch with a group of 9th-grade boys for discipleship, have a prayer time for our student ministry, have a run-through of our Wednesday night activities, setup for Wednesday night activities, preach at Wednesday night service, hangout after service, and finally get in my car to go home to sleep! I will stand up and sit down at least thirty-something times today!

Why do I start the devotional with an overview of my day and a random statistic about sitting down and standing up? Well, if you have not already, read Psalm 139:1-2. The 139th chapter of Psalms is famous because of verses 13-14, but it starts with a couple of verses that have greatly encouraged me.

Verse 1 is a verse you may be familiar with. The truth that God searches and knows you personally is encouraging because it shows that God is close to us, and all His creation. We know from a salvific standpoint that those who have a relationship with Jesus know that God lives in our hearts, is close to us, and will be with us always. These affirmations of these truths are great, but verse 2 really stuck out to me recently. God knows when I sit down and when I stand up. I have never thought seriously about that statement, but for some reason, this verse has gotten my attention lately.

It is mind-boggling to think that Jesus knows every time I sit down and stand up. Like today, as I go through meetings and a busy Wednesday night, He knows when I will sit down and when I will stand up. Verse 2 shows me that He is close enough to know those things, but He also knows what this day holds, and I can trust Him in knowing that He already knows what my sit-downs and stand-ups and all things in between look like. Another truth from verse 2 that encourages me is that God understands my thoughts from far away. This is encouraging but also scary to be reminded that God knows our thoughts. Hopefully you have been setting your mind on Christ like we talked about yesterday, but the first two verses in Psalm 139 show how God is close to us, cares for us, and knows all about our lives.

May we all today take advantage of having an all-mighty God who is personal and close to us. May we all grow in our relationship with Christ because He is close by and knows even when we stand up and sit down.

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Podcast of the Week

Content in Christ, Pt. 1

God has really spoken to me through Philippians 4:8-13 and used it to challenge me. Contentment is a rare Christian gem and provides a wonderful blessing and freedom for all who possess it. Contentment is the topic of today's episode, as well as the next one. Let's dig into this topic of contentment in light of Philippians 4:8-13 as well as other passages of Scripture.

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