The driving beat, echoing from the subtly swaying dance floor, fell slowly silent with each stealthy step I took along the promenade deck. Like a runaway trying to elude capture by ever-luring temptations, I slid along the starboard rail. People sat, like robots on stools, fixated, plunking coins in slots and pulling magical levers in hopes of hearing the victorious cascade of good fortune.
Further on, gracefully entwined swans presided, with an icy glisten, over a gluttonous spread of midnight culinary madness. It was all I could do not to be lured away from my destination. After all, I had a divine appointment to keep.
The world quieted with a gentle hush as I stepped onto the bow of the boat. A handful of people were either wrapped in an embrace or staring skyward from their posts on deck. With a plethora of lounge chairs to choose from, I slid anonymously into one in the middle and pulled the soft, salty blanket up around my neck. I leaned back, took in a deep breath while closing my eyes, and then upon exhale, I opened them to a breathtakingly magnificent canopy of galactic wonder.
For as far as the eye could venture, all I could see were colossal clusters of galaxies and millions, no, billions of incandescent bodies in a brilliant, better-than-Christmas, light display. This midnight panorama of the heavenlies was intoxicating.
For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by starry nights. They call to me like a siren. This night, I knew, I would remember always.
“When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4)
It was hard to fathom that David, nearly three thousand years ago, gazed at this same star-filled sky and wrote these infamous words.
What, exactly, does it mean that God is mindful of me? Does it mean that I am occasionally brought to the forefront of His mind like a got-to-get grocery item?
Curiosity sent me digging in my Concordance and flipping through the Hebrew dictionary to find out what "mindful" meant in this particularly scripture.
Mindful or zakar in Hebrew has fine nuances of meaning. In this context, "mindful" means: God extols me. He commemorates me. He speaks of me and my worth. He remembers me always.
Others may forget me, but I am never off God's mind.
What am I that God honors me and finds me worthy of mention?
On the sixth day, God created man, and from him, woman as His crowning achievements in Creation. After creating day, night, sun, moon, stars, water, mountains, fields, and all the creatures that dwell on the earth, He created Adam and Eve...and then He created YOU!
There is nothing in this world that has ever been created beyond You that is greater than what and who YOU are! (read that again)
You are the pinnacle of His perfect Creation. It doesn't get any better than You. You are the best thing since sliced bread, my friend!
Just as God lovingly caressed each and every star with his fingertips and then purposefully placed it in the dark sky and gave it a name, God created You.
He fearfully and wonderfully knit you together in your mother's womb. He numbered the hairs upon your head and every day of your life has been recorded in His book of life. He has engraved you on the palm of His hand. He has never created anything or anyone better than you. You are unforgettable.
God's tender eye, filled with love and adoration, is always upon you.
You don't just come to mind every now and again...
God extols you to the angels...
God commemorates your existence...
God honors you above all living creatures...
God has spoken, "You are worthy!" over you...
God is the God who remembers you...always.
Furthermore, God cares for you. He has given you a number. He has counted you as His own. He pays close attention to you and would surely notice if you were missing. He will come to your aid. He will come for you as He would the lost sheep. That's how much you matter.
I hope and pray that the next time you gaze at the twinkling stars in the sky, you will be reminded that, just as the stars gloriously reflect the sun's light, YOU were made with purpose, for a reason, for such a moment as this to shine brightly in a dark world so as to illuminate the blackness around you with the Son's love...and certainly, God is mindful of you and He cares deeply about you!
Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you that you are always mindful of me. The world may forget me, but you never do. I praise you that you care for me yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. I am never out of your thoughts. Help me to remember that I am created in your image. You created me, not because you needed me, but simply because you loved me. No matter where I roam, you are there and your tender eye is upon me. I am never out of your reach. You count me as Your own. Enable me to see myself through your eyes and know I am worthy because you said that I am. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
What about you...do you believe that God is mindful of you, personally, all the time? Do you trust that God never forgets about you...that you are never off His mind? What does it mean that God counts you as His own? How might you walk forward in that knowledge?
Be blessed....
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