You Are Loved by Maria Hartman

Psalm 139:17-18a How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand.

My mind just short circuits at the meaning of this passage, and it is not even speaking to humanity as a whole; it is directed to us as individuals! Picture if you would just one handful of sand. Now think about attempting to count the number of grains. There are probably hundreds of thousands of grains per handful. What if God took one cup of sand from every beach and said that all the grains represented one thought of His toward you. You may not believe even that, but wait; the verse says the number of God's thoughts toward us are more in number than the sand! He loves you so much that His thoughts toward you are endless. You are His beloved and there is never a time He is not thinking of you.

It is very ironic. We are really as insignificant as a grain of sand in the scheme of things, and in light of who God is. Yet He speaks to us through David to tell us we are worth everything to Him (notice the exclamation marks). As Christians we are always reminded of how Christ displayed His love for us by dying on the cross for our sins. But when I stopped and meditated on this part of the Psalm, I was truly overcome with such a deep sense of His all encompassing love every minute of every day. I know what it's like to think about those I love, but I've never considered that God would be thinking about me. This is a love totally undeserved and basically impossible to comprehend. He has bestowed it upon us nonetheless.

FOR TODAY: If you feel insignificant or unloved, don't. God has told us something which is completely contrary to that feeling. Lets live out this fantastic truth with a contagious joy and with thanksgiving overflowing in our hearts. Why? Because we are LOVED, LOVED, LOVED.