Journeys of Grace

I’m a thinker. Actually, that’s an understatement. I’m an overthinker.

I think about my plans for the day. I think about what I said to someone last night and carefully reanalyze the conversation. I think about how classes are going. I think about work, and I think about how I’ll fit work in with school. I think about others. And I think about what others think about me.

Many of my thoughts group together in the “worried” category, while many others find themselves in the “tired,” “selfish,” and “envious” categories.

Generally, we don’t think about something that isn’t important to us. For instance, I normally don’t think about my next breath. I breathe on autopilot, so I don’t have to concentrate on each breath.

I also don’t normally think about people I don’t even know. Sometimes when I’m driving down the road and I pull up to a stoplight I think about the people in the cars next to me. I wonder who they are and where they’re going.

But normally, I don’t think about them. Normally, I’m too busy thinking about my busy day or the people with me in the car to think about strangers. Their lives don’t concern me because I don’t actually care about them.

We think about things we care about. The more we care about something, the more likely we are to think about it.

So that leads me to a question.

What does God think about?

Have you ever wondered this?

In Psalm 40, David gives us a glimpse into the very mind of God. He tells us something that God thinks about. And you might be surprised at what that is.

Psalm 40:5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.

God thinks about us. That means He thinks about you. And He thinks about me.

In fact, God doesn’t just think about us; He multiplies His thoughts toward us. Saying God is an overthinker wouldn’t be accurate because God doesn’t think about anything any more or any less than He should, but it would be accurate to say that God thinks about us a lot.

Later on, David mentions this idea again when he says in verse 17, “As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!”

David understood the immense ramifications of God’s thoughts. He was able to take comfort in God’s thoughts for him, understanding what an amazing thing that was. Even though David felt surrounded by those who would attempt to destroy him, he could rest in God’s thoughts for him. He knew that the same God who cared about him enough to think about him would help and deliver him.

Just as God thought about David and was near him to help and deliver him, so God thinks about each one of His children and is near them to help and deliver them.

The fact that God thinks about me is amazing, but as long as I am only thinking about myself I will miss the joy of learning more about this God who cares so much for me.

What are you thinking about today? Are you worried? Are you content? Are you stressed? Instead of being governed by thoughts that are full of stress, worry, and envy, take a few moments to think about the God who thinks about you.

Put those thoughts in a “God” category, and make that category the most important one.