There's a couple in Arkansas who have given their six-year-old son strict instructions to come home from playing every afternoon no later than 5 p.m. He is allowed to play with his friends, but his parents are quite serious about his curfew. If he is not home by 5 p.m., they begin to worry and call around the neighborhood to find out where he is. The boy knows this, though, and is careful to arrive every day on time.

One April Monday, however, the day after Daylight Saving Time went into effect, the boy was late coming home. When he finally arrived, a few minutes before 6 p.m., his mother scolded him for being late. "You know you are to be home by five," she said, "and here it is nearly six."

Puzzled, the little boy pointed out the window. "But the light," he protested, "the light; it's the light that tells me when to come home." Realizing what had happened, his mother smiled and gently explained that the day before the time had been changed, that everyone had reset their clocks and, now, the daylight lasted longer.

The boy's eyes narrowed. "Does God know about this?" He asked suspiciously.

It's easy to see why a young boy would ask such a question, but no matter what the circumstance prompting the question, the answer to "Does God know about this?" Is always, "Yes, He knows." David reflected on this quality of God in Psalm 139:

"Lord, you have examined me and know all about me. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know thoroughly everything I do. Lord, even before I say a word, you already know it. You are all around me -- in front and in back -- and have put your hand on me. Your knowledge is amazing to me; it is more than I can understand." (Psalm 139:1-6)

At times, it is a bit frightening to realize that God knows so much about me, but ultimately it is a comforting thought -- that someone knows so much about me, yet still loves me. Because God knows me so well, He knows my deepest needs. May you take comfort this day in the realization that God knows everything about you there is to know.

Alan Smith alansmith.servant@gmail.com