Thinking of You

When there is a death in the family, it is so encouraging to see people rally around and step up to provide support and comfort through meals, cards, flowers, phone calls, and just being present to listen, console, and encourage. The sting of death is not erased; the pain is real and sometimes overwhelming, but a caring community can and does make a difference.

Meditation
Psalm 40:17—I am afflicted and needy; the Lord thinks of me. You are my helper and my deliverer; my God do not delay.
 
David wrote, “For troubles without number have surrounded me; my sins have overtaken me; I am unable to see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my courage leaves me. LORD, be pleased to deliver me; hurry to help me, LORD” (vss. 12,13).  We don’t know what troubles David was thinking about or going through, but we can determine some truths from the Hebrew language. The word for “be pleased” is the Hebrew word ratsah and in this case, it involves a willingness to do something. In other words, David is asking God for deliverance, and in that plea is a request for God to be willing to help him.[1]
           
David concludes this psalm with a confident assertion that God thinks of him. That word for think is the Hebrew word chashav, which has a richer meaning of consider or plan.[2] David testified that God accounted for his situation and planned for his deliverance.
           
The hardest part for most people after losing a loved one is when friends stop coming around, cease asking how they are doing, and move on with their busy lives. Caring attention spans typically are not long. Yet, when the quiet descends upon the broken heart, and loneliness is the only meal left, there is an eternal truth that does not hide or go away.  God is thinking of you.  His love is a planning love for your betterment. He knows your situation. 
           
C.S. Lewis wrote in The Problem of Pain, “God is Goodness.  He can give good, but cannot need or get it.  In that sense all His love is, as it were, bottomlessly selfless by very definition; it has everything to give and nothing to receive.” God’s goodness extends to you. In thinking of you, He knows exactly your needs and how to meet those needs.  Something to think about . . . in reveration!
 
Inspiration
"In times of affliction we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God."—John Bunyan
 
©2023 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you want to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.     
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)

[1] HCSB Study Bible, 2010, Holman Christian Standard Bible
[2] Ibid