Ps 139:17-18: “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.” [NIV]
Let’s all go down to the beach. Get into your swimsuit, grab a beach towel and a picnic lunch and head to the ocean. Don’t forget your pail and shovel. Let’s scoop up a pail full of sand and bring it home with us.
Take the sand and spread it out on a large tarp. Start to count the grains, each grain individually. One, two, three. Perhaps one million, two million, or more! Now think about what David wrote … “Your thoughts, O God … would outnumber the grains of sand.”
Not just the grains of sand in your meager bucket. Not even just the grains of sand on your beach. But the grains of sand on every beach and in every desert. Endless grains of sand. Innumerable thoughts of God that would outnumber even the endless grains of sands.
And the implication is that the thoughts of God that David found precious are not random thoughts, but thoughts God has specifically for David.
We can’t always put ourselves into a passage of Scripture and claim its promises and intent. Some are aimed at others besides us … after all you wouldn’t want to insert yourselves into the promises God has for the enemy of our soul. But in this instance, we can insert ourselves into the passage.
God’s endless, wonderful, awesome thoughts are for us. They are precious, specific to us, and without number.
Rejoice, child of God!
