"Does God Care?"
Feb. 9, 2019
The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake.
~ Psalm 23:1-3 (ESV)
Someone once asked, "Does God care for me?" In the minds of some people, there is doubt whether God can take care of each and every person on earth. They sometimes compare God with the president of some enormous company and remark that he cannot know, nor do we expect him to know, the needs of the thousands working for him. In a hospital a patient once told me God was busier than any CEO, regulating sun, moon, and stars in the heavens, supplying the earth with food and drink, guiding the affairs of nations. There's no way God would have time to think of the needs and troubles of each and every person living on earth. Now and then I meet a person who, when I try to persuade him to believe that God is interested in him, replies: "What? You want me to believe that God thinks of me? Why should He care about me? He may know the needs of great men, but I am of such little worth that it would be time lost for God to think about me."
A friend of mine once told me why she liked Psalm 23 so much: "Because it's written in the singular." In the singular? Yes, that is true. The psalm does not read: "The Lord is our Shepherd; we shall not want. He makes us to lie down in green pastures; He leads us beside the still waters." No, the psalm reads: "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." In all six verses of that psalm the singular is used. I believe the Lord did that on purpose. By means of that singular pronoun, He is bringing home to us the truth that He is going to take time off from His important work of managing the world and use it to help you, in the problems you have and to assist you, in the troubles that you have. He's going to use it to help each and every one of us.
Is there still a doubt in your mind? Read Galatians 2:20. There Paul says, Jesus, "who loved me and gave Himself for me." Paul often speaks of Jesus dying for the world; here Paul says that Jesus died for him—for him, in the singular. He says that everything Jesus did was done especially for him, to save him from sin, to save him from death, to save him from the power of the devil.
Does God care? It's only logical that He would. Why shouldn't He care? He did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all. It is unreasonable to believe that God does not care for us; it is unscriptural to believe He is not interested in us. God does care for us—for each and every one of us. Of this we can be assured: that whatever happens to us, it will be for our good and to His glory and honor.
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, may I in confidence trust that You will always take care of me. Amen.
From "Does God Care?" a sermon excerpt from Dr. Lawrence Acker, former Speaker of The Lutheran Hour. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Someone once asked, "Does God care for me?" In the minds of some people, there is doubt whether God can take care of each and every person on earth.
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