“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Mt. 10:30, Lk. 12:7) This could be read that their days are numbered and therefore will someday be gone. This is not, however, the lesson to be learned here. Let us first consider the impossibility of this, humanly speaking. For if it were possible to cordon off one square inch at a time to count, it would constantly be changing from hair loss and new hair coming in. We are, of course, speaking of the power of God who knows such things. Job 31:4 has another in this category with this question: “Doth not he see my ways and count all my steps?” Some scoffers may ask why it matters, or who cares about the number of steps, or the number of hairs on our heads. There are several lessons to be learned from these examples.
God does not need to count to know these things. God knows this because He is the all-knowing God who knows everything, without exception; “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col. 2:3) This is beyond our comprehension because everything that we know we learned it from others, or experienced for ourselves. God never learned anything, never added to His knowledge, and nothing has ever “occurred” to Him. He knows because He is God, not because He figured it out. What is said about the number of hairs, or steps, could also be said of the number of cells in each body or the number of trees in the forest. We know this from Psalm 147:4 – “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” There are absolutely no limits to His power and knowledge. We do not even have the ability to understand His ways or how He thinks. Psalm 55:8-9 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
The next thing to consider is how well and how intimately God knows us. Our nearest friend or our spouse does not know us well enough to know this. Psalm 139 beautifully expressed this personal knowledge that God has of us. The first few verses demonstrate how intimately God knows us: “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thoughts afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me: it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” (vs. 1-6)
God loves us not because of what we are, but He loves us because of who He is and in spite of who we are. We can never say, “If He only knew me, He would not love me.” I can assure you, God knows you perfectly and intimately, even the hairs of your head are numbered.
hc
A Very Present Help
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Ps. 46:1)
To get the whole message, you must read the whole Psalm. The writer (probably David), is speaking of God’s presence with us when trials come our way. God is a very present help in times of trouble. When we have trouble in our life or are troubled within, this Psalm should speak to us. We all need a hiding place from troublesome times and God is that place, a refuge from the storms of life. We often call on God when the advice of friends is of no comfort or when we run out of answers. This is where we should go, and can go because He is very present. The word “very” means truly. God is truly present at all times as we find in two New Testament verses. Jesus said to his disciples, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (i.e. age)(Mt. 28:20) In Hebrews 13:5 “he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
“I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings.” (Ps. 61:4) Isaiah 4:6 says much the same thing, with a couple of added thoughts: “And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.” Psalm 32:2 ties this together and the man spoken of is Jesus. “And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Jesus, who is ever with us is that hiding place, and rivers of water and that great rock in a weary land. If you feel to be in that place, do not forget that Jesus is there, very present.
We sing a song that is familiar to most people. It is called “Jesus Lover of My Soul.” Allow me to quote part of the first verse. “Jesus lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly, while the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.” In this hymn, Charles Wesley expresses what the Psalmist was saying. It is not just in times of peace within that we feel the presence of the Lord, but also when the tempest is at its highest. Later in this hymn, he says directly from Scripture: “Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing.”
God is not only our refuge but is also our strength. Paul said, “When I am weak, then am I strong.” (Rom. 12:10) When we stop trusting in ourselves, and leaning to our own understanding, then God shows Himself strong and says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28) The help that you need is still strong and ever present.
hc