My Thoughts To You Are As Countless As The Sand On The Seashore

March 24

Psalm 139:17-18 “How precious to me are your thoughts, God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.”

I enjoy spending time on the beach.  When my kids were young, we had a boat and spent many weekends on the water.  While most of the time was spent in the boat, we would occasionally pull up on the beach and dig our toes into the sand.  At times, we spread out towels to catch a few sun rays while lying on the beach.  Other times, small castles - or some other sand creation - would be built.  Choosing just the right distance from the waves made for a fun challenge.  Often, though, the waves would reach the sand creation and it would quickly collapse, and the sand would be washed into the lake.  Every so often, I would stop and look at all the sand on the beach and think of this verse (or the promise that God gave Abraham in Genesis 22:17 that his descendants would be as numerous as the sands of the seashore).  

In the last three years, I’ve had the privilege of taking vacations to two different islands in the South Pacific Ocean.  The tropical South Pacific islands have captivated my imagination since I was in high school.  Something about tropical islands and beaches always seemed to call my name.  During both vacations, I spent many hours just hanging out on the beach.  Sitting there looking out over the vast ocean, feeling the warm breeze, basking in the tropical sun rays, and seeing small sea creatures made for an amazing time.  There were endless amounts of sand on the beach.  The soft white sand seemed to go on forever.  Just a handful of the beautiful sand had to contain thousands of grains.  As the sand quickly slipped through my hands, I was reminded of these verses in Psalm 139.

It is estimated there are 7.5 x 10 to the 18th power of grains of sand on Earth (that is 75 followed by 17 zeros)!  King David writes in Psalm 139 that if he were to count God’s thoughts, they would outnumber the grains of sand.  The estimated number of grains of sand on Earth is staggering (I’m not sure I can comprehend that number), and yet God’s thoughts far outnumber the grains of sand.  God’s limitless thoughts of me are loving.  His endless thoughts of me are to bless and prosper me.  God’s never-ending thoughts of me guide and protect me.  God’s innumerable thoughts of me are easily seen when I look at the cross where His Son died for my sins. God’s inexhaustible thoughts of me and who I am in His eyes are found in His Word where He reminds me again and again that I am His beloved child.  I am never outside of His thoughts.  How precious are your thoughts, O God!