Known: A Thanksgiving Reflection on the God Who Sees Us Deeply

Lately, I’ve had the song “Known” by Tauren Wells on autoplay — not as background noise, but as something my heart keeps reaching for.

There is comfort in those lyrics I can’t seem to let go of. Comfort in knowing that the God who sees every part of me will never pick up the weapons formed against me. Comfort in knowing He isn’t the One who wounds — He is the One who was wounded for me. The only hands that could judge me were pierced to save me. And somehow, that truth makes me breathe a little more peacefully these days.

What deepens the meaning of the song for me is learning that Tauren Wells wrote it after hearing a well-known quote from Pastor Timothy Keller:

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial;

to be known and not loved is our greatest fear;

but to be fully known and truly loved is what it means to be loved by God.”

Not because Keller’s words carry authority — they don’t, and shouldn’t —but because they echo a reality Scripture has already declared for generations: that the God who knows us wholly also loves us perfectly.

It captures the tension we live in as humans: our longing to be deeply seen and our fear of being exposed.

And it names the miracle of grace —that God does both.

That truth, more than anything else this year, is what gratitude feels like. Gratitude feels like exhaling into the safety of a love that knows every part of me and never lets me go.

Thanksgiving is often framed around gratitude for blessings — homes, families, jobs, provision, the soft comforts of this world that warm our hearts. Those things matter. But this year… I find myself thankful for something deeper. Something older than time. Something steadier than circumstances.

I am thankful that the God who created galaxies, the One who spoke stars into being, the One who holds oceans in His hands, knows me.

Not politely.

Not loosely.

Not from a distance.

But intimately.

Completely.

Utterly.

And He still loves me.

Tauren Wells’ lyrics echo in my spirit: “It’s so unusual, it’s frightening — You see right through the mess inside me.”

Yes. That’s it. That’s the hard truth and ridiculous grace my soul can’t get over.

Because it is frightening to be seen that deeply.

And it is comforting.

And it is holy.

And it is the only love that actually saves us.

He Knows the Worst of Us — and Doesn’t Walk Away

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up;You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.”— Psalm 139:1–4 (NKJV)

We spend so much energy in life managing impressions: polishing what looks good, hiding what feels shameful, protecting ourselves from judgment.

But God? He already knows every hidden valley in us. Every shadow. Every sin we swore we’d never commit. Every fear we try to outrun. Every wound that still bleeds beneath the surface.

Nothing is concealed from His sight…and yet He does not withdraw His affection.

That is the part that undoes me.

You can’t shock Him. You can’t disappoint Him into abandoning you. You can’t scare Him off with your humanity.

He knows you —and He loves you.

Fully known. Fully loved. The two things we spend our lives convinced cannot coexist…yet in Christ, they do.

Hard Truth & Ridiculous Grace

The song says: “Hard truth and ridiculous grace to be known, fully known, and loved by You.”

That is the gospel wrapped in one sentence.

Hard truth: God sees the real you — the sin, the pride, the insecurity, the patterns you still fall into, the parts of you that feel unholy and half-formed.

Ridiculous grace: He moves toward you anyway — with tenderness, correction, mercy, and relentless love.

Only God can hold those two realities at once. Humans cannot. We love conditionally. We accept partially. We retreat when things become messy.

Jesus stays — after we offend Him.

Jesus restores — what we confess.

Jesus rebuilds — what we surrender.

Jesus redeems — what we hand Him in humility.

If only I could love and be loved like that.

And on this Thanksgiving, I’m reminded that the greatest gift I’ve ever received is not a blessing, not an answered prayer, not a provision or breakthrough —but the love of a Savior who knows me fully and chooses me still.

That is the miracle.

Known Love Is the Only Love That Satisfies

You don’t need to earn this love. You don’t need to perform for it. You don’t need to pretend your struggles aren’t real. You don’t need to clean up before coming close.

You are known—and still welcome.

You are known — and still wanted.

You are known — and still held.

Every human relationship, no matter how beautiful, is incomplete. But this love? This knowing? This grace? It is the only love large enough to anchor a human soul.

Others may misunderstand you. Misjudge you. Misinterpret your motives. Walk away from your weakness.

But Jesus never will.

He knows the truth about you —your intentions, your tears, your trauma, your growth, your failures, your desires, your wounds, your worship —and His love does not waver one inch.

That is why His love is the only love we ultimately need. All other loves are gifts —but His love is the foundation.

A Thanksgiving of the Soul

So this year, my gratitude sounds different. It sounds like worship. Like wonder. Like awe.

Thank You, Jesus, for knowing me fully and loving me perfectly.

Thank You for the hard truth that frees me, and the ridiculous grace that restores me.

Thank You that nothing in me scares You, surprises You, or pushes You away.

Thank You for being the One love that never fails, never shifts, never has conditions, never grows tired of me.

Thank You for seeing me to my depths —and calling me beloved anyway.

If Thanksgiving is about gratitude, then this is the most profound gratitude my heart can offer:

I am known.

I am loved.

I am Yours.

And that is enough.

🌿 Mark Your Calendars

✨ The Field & Feather Fire Conference ✨February 14th, 2026 Camp Aramoni, Tonica IL

10 am - 2 pm

A gathering created for women just like us —women being pruned, healed, stretched, and set aflame by the God who refuses to leave us unchanged. A morning filled with testimonies, worship, learning, laughing, and sharing. If the letter above spoke to something deep in you…then this day is for you. The Holy Spirit is moving, come hear how!

Come expecting renewal. Come hungry for Jesus. Come ready for fire.

🌾 At Field & Feather, we walk with women through every season of growth — the pruning, the blooming, and the stillness in between. We believe gratitude is more than saying thank you for blessings; it’s becoming thankful for transformation. For the Savior who refuses to leave us unchanged. Join us at www.fieldandfeatherministries.org or on Facebook.