Unforgettable!

When we first moved to Florida 8 years ago we bought a new trash can for the kitchen. Because the bin was going to sit in the middle of our kitchen for the foreseeable future we chose the nicest one we could find with a great swinging lid. Around the same time our eldest son, Jacob, was given a pen knife for his birthday. One day, when dropping something into my new trash can, I noticed that on the lid, carved right in the centre in large print, were the letters B J T. When you consider our middle son is called Benjamin Taylor, with the middle name initial “J”, it didn’t take the greatest detective to track down the culprit! Apparently, at just 5 years old, Ben had wanted to test out just how cool his brother’s new penknife was! It was never a priority to replace the trash can and so to this day Ben’s initials sit on the bin reminding me of him each time I see it.

God says in today’s Scripture that He has written our name on the palm of His hand! In other translations it says “engraved” “inscribed” or “indelibly imprinted (tattooed)”. Ponder that for even just a moment… Almighty God, Creator of all things, Mighty Savior and Holy King of Kings, has your name not just written in washable Crayola on His hand – but permanently engraved, inscribed and indelibly imprinted on the palm of His hand! That is incredible!

So often our picture of God is different to the truth of who He is. The Bible reminds us in Ephesians 3 just how little we know of the extent of His love and care for us. “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.” (Eph 3 v 19. Without even realizing it, we can be living life coping with very limited understanding of the God we serve, or even with wrong beliefs about who He is and what He is like. Maybe through experiences of life we have come to see God as cold or distant, not particularly interested in the struggles of our heart and just a little impatient waiting for us to get better. We don’t know Him as the kind Father that He is with gentleness, mercy, patience and tenderness entwined in His heart for you and I.

God’s written your name on the palm of His hand and He promises He will never ever forget you. He will never let you go. No matter what it may feel like in the midst of our struggles and the busyness of life, we are not alone. We have not been overlooked, abandoned or forgotten by Him – and He promises to never do so. You are not second best, hiding in the back or in anyone else’s shadow in God’s eyes. He sees you. God knows you. He accepts you. He values YOU enough to engrave your name on His palm and He won’t ever let you go!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, how little I truly know of who you are and the full extent of your love for me. Father please forgive me for the times I hold you at a distance or I think I know you but have misjudged you because of other’s treatment of me or their behavior. Lord please show me something fresh of your love for me today and let me hold tightly in my heart this truth that you have my name – ME – engraved in the palm of your hand. In Jesus Name, Amen.