God Wants to Think About You—Two2Grow, Saturday, July 25
God Wants to Think About You—Two2Grow, Saturday, July 25
“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:16 NIV
By Emelie Stenhammar, MD
One of my earliest childhood memories—I was probably about four years old—is of sitting on the kitchen counter in the home of some of my parents' friends. The adults were talking and talking, and I was fidgeting, as kids do when they're bored.
On the counter where I was sitting were glass jars filled with different dry foods. I took a dried pea from one jar and dropped it into another jar filled with rice.
A few weeks later, we visited their home again. The lady of the house took me by the hand and led me into the kitchen. There she pointed to the lone pea among all the rice in one of the jars.
"I know you put it in there," she said.
I was afraid she was going to scold me, but instead she said,
"I'm not going to remove it, because every time I see it, it makes me think of you."
Even though I was very young, it struck me: If she thinks about me every time she sees that pea, and she doesn't want to remove it, then she actually wants to think about me!
It was a remarkable realization—one that deeply affected my young sense of self-worth. I mattered enough that an adult who wasn't even related to me enjoyed thinking about me. Imagine!
If something is really important to us—something we don't want to forget—we might write it on the palm of our hand as a reminder. God says that He has written our names on the palms of His hands. That means He wants to be reminded of us. He wants to think about us. Just like the lady wanted to think about me.
A popular worship song asks, "Who am I that You keep me on Your mind?" What an incredible thought. That alone should transform the way we see ourselves.
The God who holds the universe in His hands has my name written on those very hands. The God whose wisdom brought all creation into being enjoys thinking about me. If nothing else makes me feel valuable, surely that does.
Lord Jesus, thank You for thinking about me and for delighting in doing so. Your love for me and the fact that You think about me make me special. Jesus, I love You!
By Emelie Stenhammar, MD
One of my earliest childhood memories—I was probably about four years old—is of sitting on the kitchen counter in the home of some of my parents' friends. The adults were talking and talking, and I was fidgeting, as kids do when they're bored.
On the counter where I was sitting were glass jars filled with different dry foods. I took a dried pea from one jar and dropped it into another jar filled with rice.
A few weeks later, we visited their home again. The lady of the house took me by the hand and led me into the kitchen. There she pointed to the lone pea among all the rice in one of the jars.
"I know you put it in there," she said.
I was afraid she was going to scold me, but instead she said,
"I'm not going to remove it, because every time I see it, it makes me think of you."
Even though I was very young, it struck me: If she thinks about me every time she sees that pea, and she doesn't want to remove it, then she actually wants to think about me!
It was a remarkable realization—one that deeply affected my young sense of self-worth. I mattered enough that an adult who wasn't even related to me enjoyed thinking about me. Imagine!
If something is really important to us—something we don't want to forget—we might write it on the palm of our hand as a reminder. God says that He has written our names on the palms of His hands. That means He wants to be reminded of us. He wants to think about us. Just like the lady wanted to think about me.
A popular worship song asks, "Who am I that You keep me on Your mind?" What an incredible thought. That alone should transform the way we see ourselves.
The God who holds the universe in His hands has my name written on those very hands. The God whose wisdom brought all creation into being enjoys thinking about me. If nothing else makes me feel valuable, surely that does.
Lord Jesus, thank You for thinking about me and for delighting in doing so. Your love for me and the fact that You think about me make me special. Jesus, I love You!