What Does God Think About Me?
Scripture
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!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
Psalm 139:17–18 (NLT)
Have you ever stopped to consider how much God thinks about you? David did. And what he found left him speechless. The thoughts God has toward him are so vast, so constant, so personal, that they outnumber the grains of sand. That is not poetic exaggeration. It is David’s honest attempt to describe something his mind cannot fully contain. He is not talking about God thinking about humanity in general. He is talking about God thinking about him, specifically, intentionally, and without interruption. And when he wakes up in the morning, God is still there. Still thinking. Still present. The attention of God never lapses.
This runs directly against the way many of us naturally imagine God. We tend to picture Him as distant or disappointed, watching from a distance and mostly waiting for us to get it together. But that is not the God of Psalm 139. This God is not distracted by the scale of the universe He sustains. He is not too occupied with the affairs of nations to notice one person waking up in the morning. His thoughts toward us are precious, His attention constant, and His care completely personal. He knows us not the way a distant administrator knows a file but the way a loving Father knows a child He cannot stop thinking about.
“I am never out of His mind. He knows me as a friend, One who loves me; and there is no moment when His eye is off me, or His attention distracted from me.”¹
— J.I. Packer, Knowing God
Packer puts words to what David is marveling at. God’s knowledge of us is not passive or occasional. It is active, sustained, and rooted in love. And this changes everything about how we live. If God’s thoughts toward you are precious and innumerable, then you do not have to strive for His attention. You already have it. If He knows you as a friend and His eye is never off you, then you are never forgotten, never overlooked, never beyond the reach of His care.
The next time you feel unseen or unworthy, remember this. God has not lost track of you. His thoughts about you are not few or fleeting. They are constant, they are loving, and they outnumber the grains of sand.
Reflection:
- What does it mean to you that God’s thoughts about you outnumber the grains of sand?
- In what ways have you viewed God as distant or disappointed? How does this passage challenge that picture?
- How can you live differently today in light of God’s attentive and loving thoughts toward you?
Prayer:
Spend time thanking God that His love and attention toward you never waver. Ask Him to replace any lies of shame or distance with the truth of His nearness and affection. Rest today in the peace that comes from knowing you are fully seen and fully loved.
Footnote:
¹ J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 41.