Most of the people in my little corner of the world are pleasant to think about. Thoughts of them make me smile or bring comfort and joy to my mind. They are, as the late Glen Campbell sang, Gentle on My Mind. We think of our friends and loved ones many, many times in the course of a day, a week, a lifetime.
The Lord also has billions of people He thinks about continually, and they are gentle on His mind. “They” are us! Imagine it. Psalm 139:17-18 (NLT) says, How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! Again, in Psalm 40:5 (NKJV), we read, 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.
Maybe at this moment, you feel like no one could possibly be thinking about you—just little old, insignificant you. Wrong. Really wrong. Your Heavenly Father is thinking about you right now! His thoughts toward you cannot be counted. He has plans for you! Hopes! Dreams! He is the Potter; we are the clay. He fashioned each of us in such a way that our unique place in the Body of Christ is tailor-made just for us. That takes a lot of careful thought and planning, but then, who can know the Lord’s thoughts? (Romans 11:34 NLT). His thoughts are very deep, Psalm 92:5 tells us. Imagine that His thoughts about you are very deep!
Earthly fathers have hopes and dreams for each of their children. Similarly, our Heavenly Father has an amazing plan for each of His children. 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 29:11-12).
The Lord’s thoughts toward us cannot be numbered. We are gentle on His mind. He loves to think about us. He loves to think about our future. He constantly envisions us doing what He had in mind when He created us. And what is that? Our prayer to You, O Lord, is that we would always be gentle on Your mind, and that You will show us, this very day, what Your thoughts are toward us.
© 2020, Chris Werre