7-Day Bible Study: “The God Who Sees: Encounters with El Roi” - Day 6

You — Seen, Known, and Called (Psalm 139; Isaiah 43)

Key Truth: God knows everything about you—and still calls you His own.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 139; Isaiah 43:1–7

Teaching:
Psalm 139 is one of the most intimate passages in all of Scripture. David marvels that God has searched him and knows him. The Hebrew word yada doesn’t mean casual awareness; it’s deep, experiential knowledge.

God knows our thoughts before we think them (v. 2), our words before we speak them (v. 4), and our paths before we walk them (v. 3). Nothing is hidden from Him. That can feel terrifying if we imagine God as harsh or condemning… but David shows us it’s actually comforting.

God knows us completely and still hems us in with His hand (v. 5). His presence is inescapable, not because He is policing us, but because He is with us, whether in the heights of joy or the depths of despair (vv. 7–10).

David goes further: even our very formation in the womb was God’s intimate work (vv. 13–16). He knit us together with intention. His thoughts toward us outnumber the grains of sand (v. 18). This is not a distant God… this is El Roi, the God who sees us at our most hidden, who delights in us even before anyone else knew us.

Now look at Isaiah 43:1: “I have called you by name; you are mine.” In the ancient world, naming was about ownership and identity. God doesn’t just see us, He claims us. He speaks over us: You are mine. And He promises His presence through every trial: waters, rivers, fire (vv. 2–3). These are images of chaos and destruction, yet God assures us they will not overwhelm us because He is with us.

This is identity. Not defined by failure, labels, or shame, but by being chosen and called by God Himself. To be seen by Him is to be fully known and fully loved. To be called by Him is to live from a place of belonging.

Reflection Questions:

1. What labels or identities from the world have tried to define you?

2. How does God’s promise, “You are mine,” rewrite your story?

3. Where do you need to rest in the truth that God hems you in—before and behind—with His hand?

Journal Prompt: Write your own version of Psalm 139 as a personal prayer. Declare what it means to be searched, known, and called by God.

Prayer Prompt: Lord, You know me completely and still love me without limit. Help me live in the confidence of being fully seen, fully known, and fully Yours.

Memory Verse: Isaiah 43:1

Related Reading From Our Blog:

• The Dirty Mirror - Reclaiming Your Spiritual Identity Through God’s Eyes

• Lessons from Leah in the Bible - 10 Powerful Truths on Identity, Rejection and God’s Love