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“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”—Jeremiah 29:11
In the midst of trial, turmoil or indecision, we may want to cry out to the Lord as Jesus did on the Cross, “Why have You forsaken me?” We may feel we are facing the situation alone, but this Scripture gives us tender insight into God’s heart toward us. His thoughts toward us are not evil. They are full of expectation, hope, and peace.
The psalmist also wrote about God’s thoughts toward us: “The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.”1 “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You.”2
We all face situations where we are tempted to think that God has abandoned us or no longer cares. But rest assured that His thoughts toward us are innumerable, and they are filled with blessing, hope, peace, love, and purpose.—Jack Hayford3
Countless as the sand on the seashore
“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I am awake, I am still with you.”—Psalm 139:17–184
Have you ever tried to count the grains of sand on the seashore? For those of us who have tried, it is absolutely impossible! There are so many in just a scoop of your hand that it becomes incomprehensible to think that we could even begin to count them.
In this scripture verse, the psalmist tells us that God’s thoughts toward us even outnumber the grains of sand on the seashore! What imagery. The Father, who created you and who numbered all your days, is thinking about you all the time.
He never stops thinking about you. ... And they are not thoughts of condemnation and judgement, but thoughts of absolute love and adoration. How precious are His thoughts toward us. In our limited understanding, this is just too good to be true ... but it is true. God is thinking about you right now!—From fathersloveletter.com5
Continually in His thoughts
“Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.”—Psalm 40:56
We are told in the living Word that God’s thoughts toward us are as numerous as the grains of sand upon earth. This has been mathematically calculated (seven quintillions), but really, the analogy means immeasurable. The number of thoughts God has toward you and me is beyond our ability to comprehend or grasp. We are so important and beloved that He can’t stop thinking of us. We are constantly on His mind! ...
Just as our earthly fathers have countless thoughts of our future, well-being, and their love for us, God shares in these fatherly reflections. The only difference is that we are in God’s thoughts continually, both day and night. Additionally, God is a deep thinker, so His thoughts are far more heartfelt, intense, and complex than that of all mankind. “O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.”7
When God sees us struggling with worry and anxiety, He may wonder why we have forgotten to trust Him with the provision of our needs. And when we are wrestling with past memories and old habits, God may gently whisper words of encouragement in our sleep. Reminders to stand fast in our liberty found through Christ Jesus. For no father wishes to find their child entangled in a yoke of bondage.
With special care and attention, God formed us in our mother’s womb. Everything about us was designed according to His perfect plan and will. We are His workmanship, living masterpieces!
My guess is that when we look in the mirror and criticize our form, God thinks how sad it is we have yet to recognize our true beauty and worth. He may think, “Why does this vessel criticize the Potter? How long will it take till this child sees his/her value?” We are His treasure, just like the beautiful pearl the merchant sought out and obtained at a great price.
Because I do not have words to equal the grains of sand upon this planet, I will end with a final thought. Maybe God thinks we are too busy for Him and has been thinking up special ways to get our attention. When you love somebody, you want to spend time with them. You want to share experiences, conversations, and ideas. God loves us with a priceless and unconditional love, and He desires our fellowship.
Why not try thinking a bit more about God? Why not start a conversation with the Creator and see what He says. Listen carefully, for He will speak! Most likely with words of love, grace, and hope.—Cherylz8
Godward thoughts
“Whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.”—Philippians 4:89
Thoughts are real, and we can often exhaust our energies dealing with the facts and we fail to deal with the source, which is in the mind, to keep it pure, to think loveliness and godliness, to “think on these things,” God’s Word says.—The persistently, fixedly, intelligently setting your mind on that which is lovely and pure. “Whatsoever things are lovely,” God’s Word says, “think on these things.”10
Many of us today are just too busy to stop to really think. We’re just so busy that we can’t sit down and really meditate on the Word of God and think godward and “set our affection on things above,” as God’s Word says, and “not on the things that are upon the earth.” For God’s Word says, “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Set not your affection on the things that are below but on the things that are above.”11 Your mind has to be centered on the things that are above.
The battles of life are first fought on the battleground of the thoughts, and the issues of life are determined in the mind. Murder is committed within the precincts of the mind first of all. The unseen thief puts out his hand and steals the watch, but first he has stolen it somewhere within the precincts of his mind.
Thinking just seems to be such a lost art, and people don’t think as they should these days, don’t take the time just to sit down and think the thing out. God would show you a plan. He would show you how the thing is to be done or He would unravel the whole situation for you if you would just look to Him and sit down in His presence, or kneel down before Him and give Him a chance.
It was a charge of God made in the old times that His people would not think. He said, “My people will not consider.”12 God’s Word says that “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”13 Thoughts may be the most insignificant of things known only to your own self. Yet thinkers today and great psychologists tell us that each thought influences the sum total of the brain. “Whatsoever things are true,” God’s Word says, “whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, think on these things.”
What is the secret of it all? The secret of it all is to put your thoughts on God’s Word and upon the Lord Jesus Christ. As you think upon Him, as you lift your mind to the lovely Christ and set your affection on the things above, He’ll transform you and give you a renewed mind with good thoughts.
As you look at the Lord Jesus Christ and all His goodness and holiness, you yourself will grow to be like the Lord Jesus. That’s the way to take on the mind of Christ.14—Virginia Brandt
Published on Anchor August 2021. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.
Music by Michael Dooley. https://anchor.tfionline.com/post/gods-thoughts-toward-us/
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