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(George Everard, "God's Mindfulness of His Redeemed People" 1885)
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31
We learn, in this passage, the particularity and the individuality of God's care. The very sparrows, shot down by thousands in Palestine, are remembered by Him. Not one is forgotten.
How dear then to His heart, are His own redeemed people!
Chosen by the Father,
redeemed by His Son,
renewed by His Spirit--
they are the sheep of His pasture, His own beloved children--as near and dear to Him as the apple of His eye.
Nor is the individuality and tenderness of God's care less now, than in days gone by. The Good Shepherd knows each of His flock by name--and our Heavenly Father has a place in His heart for each of His redeemed children.
Struggling believer, God cares for you, even for you, and loves you with an everlasting love! Your name is engraved on the palms of His nail-scarred hands--and when those hands are stretched out to protect and to bless, you cannot be forgotten. When others scorn you--He smiles upon you. When the storm is high and your heart is overwhelmed--He is at hand to shelter and to support you. Even when your foot has slipped and sin has come in--He will not cast you away, but will gently rebuke you and then graciously forgive and heal.
But for your comfort, remember another point. God's care for you reaches to the very least matters! "Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered!"
With the Omniscient and All-wise God, there is nothing small or great. Therefore be persuaded that no concern of yours is too small for your Father's eye and a Father's love.
Bring God into everything. The very least anxiety that weighs upon you--you may roll upon Him. He will not despise it. The very least ache or pain of mind or body is a part of His loving discipline--and will do its work the better if brought to Him. The heaving of a sigh, the dropping of a tear, the unuttered desire and longing of the heart--He marks and considers.
Be as a little child with your Heavenly Father. Rejoice that with filial confidence you may bring all that concerns you to His mercy-seat. Your home trials, petty annoyances from those about you, the wearied frame, a nervous temperament, something in the house or in the shop that disturbs your peace, which you have reckoned scarcely important enough to name on your knees--tell it out in your Father's ear, and leave it to His merciful and wise ordering!
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