Many of you are aware that last November I had my left kidney removed.  It was shrunken and appeared to have a growth on it which was potentially cancer.  (It didn’t and it wasn’t … thanks be to God.)

Consequently, I will see a kidney specialist to monitor my remaining kidney for the rest of my life.  (A nugget of knowledge for you; the official title of a kidney doctor is a nephrologist – something I never knew until I had to visit one.) 

My nephrologist has a nice office on the seventh floor of a medical building behind Allenmore Hospital in Tacoma.  And if someone happens to have an office on the seventh floor, then it is only proper that the office have large windows to provide a splendid view from above.  It allows the somewhat unsettling experience of looking down on high-flying birds!

I arrived at my appointment a bit early this week.  After getting checked in, I was ushered into one of the waiting rooms.  As I gazed through the windowpane there, I had a splendid view of a golf course a quarter mile away.  A number of golfers were scooting around the fairways on carts; others were practicing their drives at the range or their putts on the green.

But what caught my eye was the huge parking lot for the medical complex immediately below me.  It was packed with vehicles.  Just beyond was a Walmart parking lot, also jam-packed with cars.  I did some quick calculations and estimated that I could cast my eyes on about 400 parked cars.  (There were even more I couldn’t see and additional ones driving by on the adjacent street.)  My doctor laughed when I told him the figure.  I doubt he or any of his nurses or patients ever bothered with such an inane exercise.

But it wasn’t pointless.  It struck me that I only knew the make of one of the vehicles below, and the name of its owner with certainty.   (Dark-green Chevy Silverado; David Birsching).  I even knew most (but admittedly not all) of the contents in that particular vehicle. 

That left approximately 399 other cars and trucks about which I was clueless.  I could even watch a few of the drivers strolling through the parking area and could usually discern their gender.  But beyond that I knew nothing about them. 

Yet it occurred to me that the Lord knew the make and model of every single vehicle below.  He could tell you where it was made and the exact date that vehicle rolled off the assembly line, what repairs had been made, which additional ones would be made, and when the oil was last changed.  The random contents inside were also obvious to the Lord, even down to the coins and stale fries between the seats and the paraphernalia tucked underneath.

He knew every owner, and every driver, if different.  God could even list off every single person who had ever ridden in every single one of those vehicles, and every single person who ever would.  He knew the drivers’ birthdays, their exact ages, and precisely when they would be called out of this world.  Same for all the passengers!  The Lord could also recite their social security numbers, detail their job resumes, summarize their health issues, and provide the full names of their entire families.  Curious about their addresses?  He could provide that too!

The contents of the drivers’ pockets, the bills and cards in their wallets, the miscellaneous necessaries and unnecessaries in their purses, and the jewelry on their body were all known by God.  Tattoos too.  The Lord even had the hairs on their heads numbered (Matthew 10:30).

I didn’t consider all of these details at the moment, but only recognized God’s all-seeing and all-knowing view in a general sort of way.  Still, it was striking.  It wasn’t until I write this that I am able to draw these details out and expand on the concept.  I was in awe that day; my awe deepens the more I work through this.  What an incredible God we have!

Of course, I’m only exploring just one tiny facet of God’s wisdom.  He truly sees all and knows all; it’s a knowledge that encompasses far more than 400 vehicles.  For example, the Lord could easily itemize the lines on the parking lot pavement and the cracks in it, the bushes and weeds and the number of bark chips in the flower beds, the number and kinds of the bugs below the surface, and how many birds flew above.

Furthermore, he sees all and knows all in the all of Tacoma, and all of Washington, and the entire United States and all of the world.  All about the people who are and who were and who will be.  Not to mention all their thoughts, concerns and aspirations.  And all of the hairs on all of their heads as well!

It’s beyond bewildering.  It’s mind numbing!

David wrote about the exquisitely profound knowledge of the Lord: “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. … Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (Psalm 139:1-4, 6).

Combine the Lord’s omniscience (ability to know all things) with his omnipotence (almighty power), then stir in his boundless love for us, and we recognize we have a God we can absolutely rely upon.  Nothing is too complicated for the Lord to understand or unravel; nothing is too daunting for him to adjust or overcome.  How incredibly comforting this truth is!

God always knows where our car is, and our car keys too, (and anything else one might need to know!), because he’s got the ultimate view from above.