One Of Those Days

I'm having one of those days.  You know, the sort of day you wish didn't bother showing up this morning.  In fact, I've been having one of those weeks.  Too much to do, too little time etc. - we've all had them.

But in the middle of my busyness, in the middle of my panic, in the middle of my must-rush-to-get-this-done-ness, God speaks.

I have just been finishing off a bit of work I needed to get sorted this evening and one of the font choices on the website I was using was called "Loved by the King."

That was it.  Right there.  God speaking into my situation.

I wasn't looking for Him, I wasn't thinking about Him, I wasn't particularly fussed about Him if I'm honest.  But that doesn't stop God looking for me and it doesn't stop Him thinking about me.

We are always on His mind.  Not in a creepy, omniscient Big-Brother kind of way, in a can't-get-you-out-of-my-thoughts kind of way.

God says, in Isaiah -

         "Can a mother forget the infant at her breast,
         walk away from the baby she bore?
         But even if mothers forget,
         I'd never forget you - never.
         Look, I've written your names on the backs of my hands.
         The walls you're rebuilding are never out of my sight."

           [Isaiah 49:15-16 MSG]

Even if He tried, God couldn't forget us.  And He longs for us to lift our eyes from the stresses of our days and to remember Him.

And as we look to Him, the worries of the world melt away. 

When we see Him we find strength to face the day.

And that strength comes from knowing that we are the loved by the King and that nothing else really matters.

God and Tattoos

I found myself discussing tattoos today with Year 9.

 

They were describing and drawing what they were hoping to have done when they were old enough to commit their ideas to permanent ink. 

 

One girl told me that her Dad had her name tattooed across his wrist.  Whilst the thought of needles being anywhere near my wrists make me feel more than a little faint, I think the idea of his tattoo being a sign of his love and commitment is lovely. 

 

How reassuring to know that your name is written in permanent ink on your father's hands.

 

The Bible tells us that this is true for us: our names are written on the hands of our Heavenly Father:

 

 

         "I’d never forget you—never.
         Look, I’ve written your names on the backs of my hands."

 

         [Isaiah 49:16 MSG]

 

 

The Amplified Bible goes even further to say,

 

"Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands."

 

[Isaiah 49:16 AMP]

 

Indelibly imprinted.  Permanent.  Not just our names, but our images.

 

God knows us individually and personally.  He knows our names.  And He is committed to us. 

 

In the same way that my Year 9's Dad has got her name tattooed on his wrist, as a sign that he is committed to her and will never forget her, so does our heavenly Father have our names tattooed on His hands, as a sign that He is committed to us and will never forget us.

 

Permanently.  Indelibly.  Irrevocably.