03262022 Think About Me

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our attentive God. Aren’t you glad He is always paying attention to you? That you are never outside His care?

“But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God” (Psalm 40:17).

This closing verse of the fortieth Psalm is deeply expressive of need and dependence on God. Verses 5 through 17 are entirely prayer, with numerous instances of direct address to God. I believe a legitimate translation would be to make the seventeenth verse entirely prayer as well. In the clause “Yet the Lord thinketh upon me,” the word yet is supplied by the translators, making this clause alone a declarative statement rather than prayer. It is quite possible that the original intent of this clause was also petition or direct address: “Let the Lord think upon me” or “Lord, think upon me.” This fits the petition-heavy ending of the psalm which repeatedly asks, “Let ...”

“Let the Lord think upon me.” If we were to put this into a context or comparison, what would this be like? The best example I have thought of would be in a hospital setting, perhaps in an intensive care unit. A new shift of nurses arrives and receives instructions from the departing nurses. The new nurses are instructed, “Keep a close eye on Mr. Smith in Room 302. He is very critical, and you must be ready to intervene at the slightest sign of trouble.” While monitoring all of the patients in the ward, the nurses keep a more constant eye on the status of Mr. Smith and take seriously the slightest changes in his condition.

I think that's what this verse expresses. The psalmist admits that he is “poor and needy.” He acknowledges that God is his “help and... deliverer.” He even cries in desperation that God would not delay or tarry. In this situation of particular need, the psalmist asks God to keep a careful eye on him, to be very mindful of him. The verb “think” is a very detail-oriented word. It indicates an intricate effort, such as would be used in braiding or weaving. The level of attention and the depth of thought are quite involved.

The psalmist's urgent prayer well reflects the desperation we often experience in times of deep need. We know we are needy and helpless. We know we need God to be our deliverer. We want to be sure that He keeps his eye carefully upon us, noticing any sign of danger and intervening immediately when there is any cause for concern. When things start to go downhill, we know we might not survive without His intent observation and quick intervention.

Interestingly, this is one of many cases in Scripture when people pray (appropriately) for things that God is already going to do. In fact, if the verse is translated as above, “yet the Lord thinketh upon me,” it is a completely accurate statement. The psalmist has already said so in verse 5, when he says, “Many ... are thy thoughts which are to usward ... They are more than can be numbered.” Many other Scripture passages declare the same truth - that God's eyes are toward His children, that His ears are open to their cry, and that He is constantly thinking about them with perfect knowledge.

I thought of one very expressive example of this concept of God watching carefully over those who are in extreme need and then responding quickly to rescue them. After the feeding of the 5000, Jesus constrained His disciples to get onto a ship and to sail at night to the other side of the sea. He remained behind. While the disciples were in the middle of the sea, a terrible and threatening storm arose.

Although the story is recorded in three gospels, Mark alone includes this detail: as the disciples toiled in their rowing in the midst of the storm, “He saw them” (Mark 6:48). Jesus was aware that the disciples were in a critical situation. He knew they faced deep need. He kept a careful eye upon them, and when He saw a critical moment, He came to them. He encouraged their troubled spirits, and He calmed the storm. There was no real danger, because Jesus was carefully monitoring their desperate situation.

When we find ourselves in fragile situations, recognizing our vulnerability and weakness, we can pray for God to keep a close eye on us. A prayer like this is not an expression of doubt that He is watching or a fear that He might not be always watching; instead, like the psalmist, it is a verbalization of our great need and dependence. It is asking God to do what He will already do, but in asking it, we are expressing the depth of our extreme dependence on Him in what we acknowledge to be a potentially critical situation. We can say, “Father, tonight I need Your special attention,” and He can monitor us as closely as necessary – all without neglecting anyone else in need!

May you rest this week in the reassurance of God’s constant attention, and may you have peace as you anticipate His effective intervention.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA