Does God have a tattoo? Really?

August 9, 2013: Does God have a tattoo? Really? Please “Share” this link to a new Precious Prodigal Blog Post: http://wp.me/p1D8dQ-cg

August 9, 2013: Does God have a tattoo? Really?

Isaiah 49:16 “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”

It can be a lonely path to walk when you love a prodigal, and that may just be the understatement of the year. We watch families that are not struggling the way ours is and, while we don’t envy them or wish them ill, we are convinced they couldn’t possibly understand our pain. And we’re probably right. We go to pick our son or daughter up from Saturday school or ISS and see laughing, carefree kids getting on a bus to go to a game or a competition. We see couples that are obviously still in love. How could parents or couples even guess how broken hearted we are or how tough our journey has become.

One of the problems with having a prodigal is that the shame involved keeps us from asking for support from friends and sometimes even from family. The people we care about may not even know what’s going on in our home. Even when they do know, it’s likely they don’t understand. Or if they understand, they don’t dwell on it. Nor should they. The fact that we can’t and don’t forget our pain for a minute doesn’t mean the people who love us will remember it all the time.

I find great comfort in knowing that God does know, He does see, and He does care. The prophet Isaiah assures us that, as unlikely as it may be, a mother might forget the child she is nursing or not have compassion on that child. However, God promises us and reassures us that He will not forget us. He goes on to say, “I have graven you on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:16) Let me be clear. The God of the universe, that One who breathed out galaxies and universes, the one who spoke light into being.

Yep…He’s the one. He said He has engraved your name and my name on the palm of His hand. It’s not done in a way that is reversible or erasable. It’s not just written in ink the way you write a phone number on your hand until you can transfer it to your phone. It is carved; it is etched; it is engraved in the palm of His hand. That one who doesn’t need a reminder has put your name there.

That verse goes on to say that our “walls are continually before” Him. Whatever the situation or the circumstance that you are facing, whatever barriers surround you, whatever pain or sorrow encompass you, those walls are continually before our great God. What a comfort that can be to us today, and what a resource is available to us for the future.

When nobody understands or seems to care, God does. My Abba Father sees, He knows, He understands, and He cares. It’s that fundamental truth that made me able to write, “For on the ground, surrounded by the rain/with vision limited, I see my pain/But I can know the sun shines way above/and I can rest in God’s unchanging love.

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, remind yourself that God knows and cares that you are hurting? Can you rest in His unchanging love?