You are on God's Mind!
Have you ever been in one place, participating in an activity, but your mind was on a thousand different things? We were having family movie night, and my husband right in the middle of the movie asked me what I was thinking about. Um…. Oh snap! I was caught….He really did seem interested in what had taken my attention away from the movie that the rest of the family was so captivated by…. So I proceeded to give him a list of about 10 things running through my head during that moment. His answer to me was, “Wow! No wonder you are so exhausted all of the time!” We laughed, and then I resumed my mindfulness, and he back to the movie.
Pondering that scenario in light of Psalm 139 had me thinking about this specific exclamation from David in verse 17, “How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand, when I awake, I am still with You.” (MEV) Earlier in the chapter, David had just finished praising God for being fearfully and wonderfully made. He tells God how marvelous are His works in him personally as God formed him. He proclaims wonder at God writing all of his days in His book. Then in verse 17, he speaks of God’s thoughts of him as being innumerable and oh so precious! He even has confidence that God is still thinking of him even in sleep.
I love this, friends! When we are exhausted by a mere 10-15 thoughts swirling through our minds, we have a God Who has us constantly on His, plus every other person on earth, and He is never weary.
Psalm 139 is one of those passages many of us have read multiple times in our lives, yet it conveys new truths each time depending on what we need to gain from its message.
Here’s what God gave me recently as I meditated on this passage, and I have to say my heart was so full of joy and hope and confidence to fuel me in the work He has called me to do.
God knows Me! (vs 1-4) Can you just sit with me and ponder that for a minute? He knows us inside and out. He sees our insecurities. He understands our fears. He notices our anger. He recognizes our joys. He hears the words of our mouths before they are spoken. He knows knows all about our day that is coming, and the one that is already past.
God is with Me! (vs.5-9) “You put Yourself behind and before me, and keep Your hand on me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is lofty, and I cannot fathom it.” (MEV) David says enough here to overwhelm me with God’s tender care of me. Whenever you feel forgotten or forsaken or unnoticed, dwell on these verses of God being before and behind you. And His hand is on you continually. Praise Jesus!!!!
God is leading Me! (vs. 9-10, 23-24 ) God is leading us personally. He’s taking our hand and will not let go. It is us/me that usually in our own willfulness leaves His guiding hand and decides to go it alone. If you have left His guiding hand, go back and take it again! It is always there waiting.
God is my Light! (vs. 11-12) “ If I say, ‘Surely, the darkness shall cover me, and the light shall be as the night about me,’ even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines as the day, for the darkness is like light to You.” (MEV) Ok, so how many of you have prayed something similar in the past several months? This was such an encouragement when I read this. We are living in some dark days, days when right is called wrong and wrong right. Days when God’s laws are being forsaken, and truth is what anyone wants to deem as truth. Darkness is certainly all about us, but what an exciting thought to think that God is not touched by this darkness! In fact, He overcomes the darkness, and it is light!!! How Awesome is Our God!
God is my Creator! (Vs. 13-15) Know that you were formed by God and intricately woven together in your mother’s womb. You have a purpose and your purpose is to fulfill God’s plan for your life. This plan will always lead you to glorify God.
After going through this list, it gave me great confidence that this is our God that we can walk hand in hand with because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. What a gift to experience closeness with the God of the universe! It’s amazing to me that among the billions upon trillions of thoughts that God is thinking, He is capable of thinking innumerable thoughts of just me, of just you! I hope that thought is a marvelous one to ponder today and gives you great confidence to walk with Him.