Thoughts Too Numerous to Count

I received a Christmas email from a friend who lives in another state. Anita and I attended the same church before she moved away. In her email, she said she had been walking in the park near her house and thought of me. I know exactly why I came to her mind.

Thirteen years ago, CW and I were in her city on business. We hadn’t seen Anita for probably ten years. And she had no idea we were there.

One evening we discovered a lovely park in the center of town. As we followed a walkway along the edge of it, I noticed street names nearby. I had just pointed out to CW a particular street I thought might be Anita’s when someone looking a lot like her walked toward us and passed on by.

It surely couldn’t be her. But if it was, she would never expect to see us there, so she likely wouldn’t recognize us. I whispered to CW and he was the brave one to call her name. She turned around. After we all picked our jaws up off the ground, we had a wonderful reunion while marveling over the God moment we had just experienced.

I’m sure Anita doesn’t think of us every time she walks in that park, but even once gives me such a warm feeling. Even though I know why I had recently entered her thoughts, it still amazes me that she—or anyone—would actually entertain a thought about little ol’ me. With our lives crowded with thousands of people, from those we see regularly to multitudes of memorable acquaintances, how do I rate being invited into someone’s thoughts?

Does it excite you as much as it does me to know someone is thinking of you? I felt special. I was worthy enough to occupy at least a few seconds of her precious time. I felt valuable. Without being there in person, I was at the forefront of her life—even if just for a moment.

As special as it is to be a thought in another person’s mind, I’m blown away by the truth David acknowledges about God: “¹⁷How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand” (Psalm 139:17-18). God thinks of me—and you—and those thoughts can’t even begin to be counted.

He had abundant thoughts of you when he “created [your] inmost being” and “knit [you] together in [your] mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). He carefully chose your eye color, how tall you would grow, the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30), your gender (Genesis 1:27), and every other detail about who you are.

God has also thought about your entire life and planned your days (Psalm 139:16). The Lord said through Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

It wasn’t one-time planning and then leaving us to follow the plan on our own. We are too prone to veering off the intended path. I imagine God to be a bit like my attentive GPS. He always knows where I am, and when I fail to follow his directions he immediately “recalculates” his plan in order to guide me back. He can’t do that without continuously thinking about me.

David said, “The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare” (Psalm 40:5). God’s plans are uncountable because his thoughts toward us are constant.

God’s thoughts of creating and planning for my life are more than enough to keep my “special” tank filled. But I wonder if sometimes he strolls through the park reflecting on things I’ve done or on conversations he’s had with me.  Just thinking . . . just remembering . . . with a happy heart. I like to think he does. And that causes my tank to overflow.

You need never feel forgotten or doubt how special you are. Be assured of your value because your heavenly Father is always thinking of you.

Scripture quotations are from NIV.