Tag: Psalm 139

Never Out of Sight or Mind

Scripture

Do you ever feel invisible? Do you ever wonder why no one is asking you how you are or what you’ve been doing? Do you ever wonder why no one seeks you out to be curious about you and your life?

Psalm 139:7-10 (ESV) says, “Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”

Loneliness is epidemic in our world full of people. And, social media turns out not to be really social at all. The world works overtime to dehumanize us. Go figure.

Yet, God is there when our self-placed parameters stretch as far as opposites can be, like heaven and Sheol. There is no depth too extensive to be devoid of God’s grip or His power to guide us and hold us securely. The “wings of the morning” hints at the farthest point east where the sun rises. The “uttermost parts of the sea” hints at the Mediterranean Sea far to the west of Israel. As far as east is from west, there is still no hiding from God’s gaze or interest. No hiding from His Sovereign control or love. No hiding from His loving care for His Creation or for His desire to re-humanize us when we are at our loneliest and most invisible points.

We like to think we can escape God’s bubble, but we can’t. We think we are alone and autonomous, but in reality we are still operational in God’s world. Our operations might be rebellious and unbelieving, but we are still hemmed in by God’s permissions and boundary lines. He sees us and He thinks about us. We are never “out of sight, out of mind.”

God sees us, knows our every intention and action, and is so near to us that the minute we call upon Him, there is no lag between our cry and His response. Although He doesn’t respond in sky-writing, He instantly dissolves the spiritual barriers between the east and west of our wandering hearts, as the heaven and Sheol contrast indicates. Even when we hesitate to call upon Him, He stands at the door ready to enter and has been there all along, seeing us and thinking about us.

Job 42:1-5 says, “Then Job replied to the Lord: I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You.”

As we are never out of God’s sight or out of God’s mind, He is faithful to answer when we call to Him. And then we can honestly say in return that God is never out of our sight. God is never out of our minds. Then, we can be truly human again.

Photo Credit: Ro Seaman

Baby Stages

Scripture

With the recent birth of my 7th grandbaby (6th granddaughter), I cannot begin to explain the hope and wonder wrapped up in that little bundle, only 7 lbs. and 4 oz., in those first few days – swaddled and resting securely in the various arms of her parents and grandparents. Nothing on earth compares to that joy.

I am reminded that Jesus chose the route of human birth in order to meet the greatest need of the world – the need for redemption. He didn’t start out the journey as an adult, He chose to complete the whole human experience in its entirety. He started out as a baby. Zechariah 4:10 (NIV) says, “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?” Zerubbabel was a descendant of David who was born in Babylon during the exile, and as an adult, returned to his homeland (Judah) to rebuild the temple during the time of Nehemiah. Small beginnings led to a great project for God’s glory.

Maturity doesn’t happen over night. All of life begins in the hidden places, beyond our ability to physically see. Psalm 139:15 says, “My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.” Hidden from us – yes, but not hidden from all-knowing and all-powerful Creator God. The One Who directs our growth and development. The One Who sees us. The One we can know.

All people, enterprises, businesses, ministries start with small beginnings – fragile, tenuous, and in need of great care to survive and thrive. There are baby stages that are as important as, if not more important than, the more mature stages. With a New Year (2023) and the expected conversations about resolutions, wouldn’t it be very promising to apply ourselves to the tender care of all those things that are in their infancy? Things that hold promise for the future and human flourishing in general? Things that build up rather than tear down? Things that are in their baby stages?

I can think of countless things that need gentle nurture so that they can reach healthy adulthood. However, most urgent is the nurture of our fledgling faith in the God Who created the universe and reached down to us through His Son Jesus to redeem us. All other nurture flows from growing faith. Faith has an infancy, yet God is faithful to place opportunity after opportunity in front of us to develop in us stronger faith in Him. Faith has baby stages, but let us not let another year go by when we let apostasy stunt any chance we have for spiritual maturity and growth.

My resolution is to make sure I don’t let baby stages become permanent and stunt my growth. John MacArthur has said, “An Apostate is someone who has received the Light but not the Life, the seed but not the fruit, the written Word but not the Living Word, the truth but not a love for the truth.” I am grateful for the baby stages when I first received the Light, the seed, the written Word and the truth. But, by God’s grace, I don’t want to remain in infancy. I want to live out the Life, produce the fruit, reflect the Living Word, and have a love for the truth.