Today’s Scripture
O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. Psalm 139: 1-4, ESV
Today’s Devotion
I knew you were going to respond that way. Ever heard that line from your spouse? It happens to all married couples. In any given situation, you almost always know how your spouse will respond, what they’ll say, and what they’ll do.
How do you know? It’s OK to answer, “I just know,” because that’s what we’re talking about in today’s devotional thought. You know your spouse because you’ve experienced them. You’ve experienced life with them. You don’t just know them intellectually; you know them as an individual.
The Bible speaks of this kind of knowing. The Hebrew language even has a dedicated word for it – yada. Pop culture has turned the word “yada” on its head and uses it to indicate boredom (yada, yada, yada or blah, blah, blah). True yada is anything but boring.
Yada – as used in Psalm 139:1 (you have searched me and known me) – implies a deep, intimate, experiential knowledge. God doesn’t just know about you, he “yadas” you. The Bible also uses “yada” to indicate the sexual intimacy between a husband and wife. Genesis 4:1 (ESV), “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain.”
Yada implies true intimacy and vulnerability. As Greg Smalley, vice president of Marriage at Focus on the Family puts it, “God’s idea of yada in your marriage if for you to know your spouse completely, for you to be deeply known by your spouse and to enjoy each sexually. So, guard that part of your relationship, protect it so it doesn’t turn into blah, blah, blah.”
Today’s Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for knowing us and loving us. Give us grace to yada – to know each other deeply and draw closer to each other as a result. Amen.
