Monday, September 16, 2013

On Visibility

O Lord, You have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
--Psalm 139:1-6

In other words:

You are not invisible. You are not unimportant. God sees you; God pays attention to what you do and do not do. He hears the thoughts that you don't want to speak aloud; He hears the thoughts that you want to say but don't. He keeps track of your actions and inactions, your thoughts and attitudes, every day, all day, and every night, all night, and don't think He ignores what you do at dusk or dawn either. He notices whether you eat or not and whether you sleep or not. If you're genuinely trying to do something and feel like you're failing, He does not miss the fact that you are trying. He is present as a Person in your now, your yesterdays, and your tomorrows. You are not a statistic to Him as He surveys the entire human race; you are not a little speck that He doesn't see in the big picture. He is focusing in on you and aware of you and thinking about you and planning for you as surely as He is holding the universe together. Is that intimidating? Maybe, but He is looking at you with love and with the desire for your good. Is it sobering? It probably should make you consider your thoughts and actions carefeully, but keep in mind that if you have accepted His forgiveness, then when He looks at you, He sees the righteousness of His Son. Is it reassuring? Yes, you can know that you are never over-looked, never ignored, never inconsequential. You matter every moment, every breath, every heartbeat, to the greatest Being that ever was, is, or will be. Take comfort, dear heart: He cares for you.