Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there. If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me. I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night, but even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

Psalm 139:7-12

Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way!

Psalm 139:23-24

Never be afraid when God brings back the past. Let memory have its way. It is a minister of God with its rebuke and chastisement and sorrow. God will turn the ‘might have been’ into a wonderful culture for the future. The psalmist asked God to search his heart and see if there was any wicked way in him, so that he might confess it and be forgiven. Then he added, "Guide me in the everlasting way."

God does not want us to be imprisoned by yesterday,

but to be free for today and tomorrow.

Brooding over the past paralyzes the present

and bankrupts the future.

Our Daily Bread – December 30, 2002