Jeremiah 29:10-13
The world population is over 7 billion
people upon the face of the earth. That is an
amazing mass of humanity. Now, you may feel
that among a number of that size, you are a
pretty insignificant person. The Bible reading
for today teaches us that He does think about
you. In order to approach this subject, it will be
necessary to ask and answer three important
questions about the Lord’s knowledge of your
life.
I. HOW WELL DOES GOD REALLY KNOW
YOU?
God says, “I know the thoughts that I think
toward you.” Of course, God was writing to the
nation of Israel. They were in captivity in Babylon.
God is reminding them that, inspite of their
pain and suffering, they are on His mind. He is
working out His perfect will in their lives.
A. God’s knowledge of us is individual. This is a reminder that, of all the people in the world, God has His mind on you. He sees you not as just another member of the vast human race; He sees you as an individual.
B. God’s knowledge of us is intimate (Matt. 10:29-31). These verses tell us of the value that God places upon His creation. The reality for us is that the Father is so concerned about our lives that He knows the very number of hairs upon our heads. The Lord knows our deepest, darkest secrets; He knows our thoughts, our motives, our plans, and our dreams!
C. God’s knowledge of us is infinite (Ps. 139:1-19). In this psalm, David tells us that the Lord is everywhere, beholding everything. Even before we came into this world, God was looking upon us and had already determined exactly how we would turn out (verse 16).
D. God’s knowledge of us is instant (Job
42:2; Ps. 139:4). That is, the knowledge of the
Lord in regard to our lives is always before the
Lord (Prov. 21:2). In other words, God’s eye is
constantly upon the affairs of your life (Prov.
15:3). This is an encouragement to me because
I know that nothing that happens in my
life catches the Lord off guard. He knows about
it before it happens (Is. 46:10).
II. WHAT IS REVEALED BY GOD’S
KNOWLEDGE OF YOU?
Since we can plainly see from the Scriptures
that the Lord sees every single detail of
our lives, what does this knowledge about us reveal to the Lord? There are two areas of life
that are constantly before the Lord.
A. God knows about your sins. God knew all about Israel’s sins! There was nothing in their hearts or their lives that He did not know.
B. God knows about your situation. God
knew everything about the sufferings of Israel.
He knew about the wickedness of the Babylonians.
He knew about their cruelty. Nothing was
hidden from Him!
He knows all that is happening in your life
as well! Nothing that has ever come your way
has ever taken the Lord by surprise. In fact, He
has allowed it to happen for His own purposes
and for your good (Rom. 8:28). Often the sufferings
and burdens of life are greater than we feel
we can bear, but, in the midst of them, we have
some pretty spectacular promises:
1. He knows all about it. If God knows all about it, then it must be part of His plan for my life. If that is true, I can accept it and trust Him to bring me safely through.
2. He is there in the midst of it (Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20). There are times when the presence of God can neither be seen nor felt, but He is there nonetheless, protecting, providing, and watching out after His own.
3. He cares about what we are facing (1 Pet. 5:7, Heb. 4:15). It may feel like God doesn’t care, but in truth, He cares far more than we could ever know.
4. He has promised grace to bring us through (2 Cor. 12:9). It may seem that the load is heavier than you can ever bear; however, the Lord has promised to meet the need and to give us grace sufficient for the trial at hand.
5. He has promised rest in the midst of toil
(Matt. 11:28). Even in the middle of the weary
day of trial, the Lord has promised rest to His
children if they will come to Him and lay their
burdens down.
III. HOW DOES GOD REACT TO HIS
KNOWLEDGE OF YOU?
How does God’s knowledge of your life and
mine cause Him to respond? Consider these
three ways that God moves in response to His
knowledge of His people.
A. God reacted toward you in the past. God moved in Israel’s past by choosing them over all the other nations of the earth (Deut. 7:7). He moved by delivering them from Egyptian bondage (Ex. 12-15). He moved by bringing them through the wilderness and into the Promised Land (Josh. 1:1).
God moved like this in the lives of all His children. God took steps in the past to meet the deepest need we have: our need to be saved. Before there was ever a man to save or a sin from which to save him, God had already provided a means of salvation. The plan then was the same plan we have today (Rev. 13:8; Eph. 1:4; Titus 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19).
B. God reacts toward you in the present. From Israel’s perspective, it looked as though the Lord had abandoned them. That’s how life appears to us at times, isn’t it? That is only how life appears! As you go through life, the Lord stands ready and able to help you along the way. You do not have to face the burdens and trials of life alone! God would have you and me to trust Him and to look to Him during the trying times of life (Matt. 6:25-33; Phil. 4:6, 7).
C. God reacts toward you in His promises. Israel probably thought the Lord had forgotten about them and about all the promises He had made to their fathers. Our initial text was sent to them to remind them that God has not forgotten. According to our text, the Lord thinks “good” thoughts about His people. His desire is to “give” them an “expected end.”
The same is true concerning us. Not a
single promise of the Lord will ever fail! He will
keep every promise He has ever made. He has a
plan for your life. Your duty is to walk in His will
(Rom. 12:1, 2).
CONCLUSION
No matter where you are in this world today,
no matter what you are facing or what you are
going through, there is help and hope in the Lord
Jesus today.
You may be walking through the deepest,
darkest, longest valley of your life and wondering
if the Lord cares or even knows about it. God
both knows and cares. Why not bring that need
to Him today?