Before Before

 The Old Testament sometimes gets a bad rap. Maybe it's because we don't always see the thread of grace that runs through it. I mean, some of those OT prophets can seem a bit harsh, asking people to repent and all. But even in the midst of what seems legalistic, if we look a little deeper, we'll find God's grace actively at work.

Recently, I found myself in Isaiah 49. I have it all marked up, with several things specifically underlined and outlined in the chapter. I couldn't believe there was so much grace shining through these verses. If you have a minute, go read the whole chapter. We're going to walk through it for the next few days.

In the first two verses, Isaiah acknowledges that God knew and called him from the womb. We can draw a parallel here to Psalm 139, where David talks about how God watched us form in the womb. Isaiah got that too! I love that Isaiah adds a more personal flair by saying, from within the womb, He called me by name. What a great picture of our up-close-and-personal God!

Jeremiah shares a similar sentiment. He says that the message he received from God was: I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world. (NLT)

I love that these two prophets that we quickly think of as harsh and demanding understood the intimate heart of God toward them. If God was watching before the womb, He's surely been watching all along afterwards, too. 

What do I take away from that? God has His eye on us. He has been watching us and waiting for us to make our entrance into time. As attentive as He has been to our arrival, there's no doubt that He turned away once we were born. He's not going to neglect us now, right?  In fact, I believe that His hope - is that we want to know Him and that we begin to grow in our relationship to Him.

That's not really that far-fetched, is it? The whole point of the OT prophets' messages was to call God's people back into relationship. That's right - all mixed up in the harsh messages, we see the common theme: repent and return. That's all God has ever wanted, and He still wants relationship today. The cross is proof of that!

Today, I will remind myself that God has been watching over me long before I was even formed in the womb and today is NOT the day He's going to look away. I'll take time to reflect on some of the darkest moments of life and realize He was there too. Just like He's always been there, He will be here with me today. He's got His eye on us, and He has no intention to look away. That's why I can trust Him with one more day. Will you join me?

Check out one of my best-selling books - 31 Days in Psalm 31. It's a devotional taken from Psalm 31 (obviously!) - a time when David was hiding in a cave from Saul - even though he'd been anointed the next king. The social isolation of caregiving can certainly make it feel like we live in a cave but God is there with us. And that's what this 31-day devotional is all about, exploring and discovering God in the caves of life. You can get the eBook from my shop at Buy Me A Coffee. Or the print and kindle versions are available in my Amazon Shop.