More Than the Sand
It is estimated that somewhere between 180 to 200 million Americans go to the beach each year. The busiest times at the beach are Memorial Day, July Fourth, and Labor Day weekends. I suspect there are many different reasons people go to the beach, but one of them is certainly to simply feel the sand beneath your toes as you stroll along the vast gulf or ocean shores.
I can’t recall any specific references to David visiting the Mediterranean Sea, though he very well could have. David’s reference to the vastness of sand may have more to do with his struggle in the desert than to the seashores we enjoy. In Psalm 139: 17-18, David said that God’s thoughts about him were both precious and vast.
“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.”
Scientists estimate that there are 7.5 sextillion grains of sand on the earth. A sextillion has 21 zeros compared to a million having just 6. God does a lot of thinking about us, if you consider David’s reference!
It is one thing to even imagine that the God of the universe thinks about us at all, but David suggests that God thinks about us all the time! And out of God’s wide and deep love for us, he gave us the scriptures to know and live by some of his thoughts.
In these two little verses then, we discover three wonderful things:
1) God’s thoughts are precious.
2) God’s thoughts are vast.
3) When we wake up, God is still with us.
The fact that you are reading this devotional means that no matter how good or bad you felt last night, God gave you the gift of his presence in another day! And in this new day, Jeremiah reminds us that God’s love and mercies are new every morning:
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
There will be one time in our lives where we wake up and experience not just a new day of God being with us as we live between our birthday and our end date in this aging body. One day we will wake up to not only discover that God is still with us but that we are with him face to face and in the place of a glorious, renewed earth. Oh, what a day that will be!
Father, we are humbled and amazed that you love us so much that we are always on your mind. Thank you for the gift of life that is ours through Jesus, our savior. Today as we breathe in the gift of oxygen and the gift of your presence, we surrender our time and talents to you. Use us to share your life with someone today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Psalm 139:17-18; Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
Photo by Pexels
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