In HIS Care

See, I have inscribed you in the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. Isaiah 49:16 (NKJV) 

A beautiful verse which I know most of us love and quote.  The Lord God of hosts is making a declaration to His children, giving them hope and comfort that they are never forgotten by Him.  It is a heart-warming and reassuring verse, when we appreciate the thought of God holding us in His hands.  The whole chapter carries encouraging words for those who are on the Lord’s side, giving us confidence that no matter what is happening around us, God is answering the prayers of our hearts.

 The Lord highlights to you as His child, that your walls are continually before Him.  When we think of this verse, we tend to think of tattoos which are inscribed in the body of an individual for a variety of reasons: memorial, displays, signals etc.  Whatever the reason for the tattoo, the bearer of it ascribes great importance to it so much so that, the pain of inscribing it is not too much to bear. The other thing about tattoos is that they are permanent, meaning the individual has a commitment to the cause being captured in the tattoo. If we take this to our musing of the verse, then we recognize God’s great commitment of love towards us that He would not want us to wander far from Him, He wants to keep us in His hands for love, protection, provision and growth into our purpose.

 I mused over the word “walls” and it occurred to me that the wall is an outer mark, it is a boundary to show how far something reaches.  The reference to walls by God suggests to me that He does not only see us as we are today but sees us in the fullness of our purpose and potential, He recognizes us as having already achieved what will be coming our way in the future.  Remember that God operates in time but not within our time (not limited by time), His vision of each one of us then, is across our life span – beginning to end.  The walls He sees before Him is His vision and purpose of our lives which often is much bigger than we realize when we think of ourselves.  (Jeremiah 1:5) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations”.   This word to Jeremiah explained how much God knew him and how He had prepared him for his purpose.  I dare say, that is the same message that God gives to each one of us – an unquestionable knowing on His part and He therefore can speak of our walls, the extent of their depth and breadth.  That is the vision He holds of us and for which we need to experience, being assured that He not only calls us but commissions us with everything we need to achieve His purpose (2 Peter 1: 3”-4) “…. His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue…..”

 These thoughts bring me to the realization of not only how great God is, but His full commitment to me and my wellbeing.  It awakens in me a desire to know what is known by God about me, so that I may live up to His vision and plans for my life.  The verse calls us to a higher sense of self-searching, that despite who we are, the Lord almighty cares for us that much.  We can only bow in awe in His presence for praise and adoration is all that we can give to one who is the creator of all.  We get to understand David’s question (Psalm 8:4) What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him?  Yet, even as we wonder with David, we still know it is true that God does love us that much.

Thoughts:

How do you respond to such assurance of care and love?

How does the fact that God know you so well, make you feel?

How does this message affect/change how you live and see yourself?