Morning Thoughts - by Elder Philip Conley

Morning Thoughts

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

This morning, there are many people that are upon rough times. They are at a point in their life when they think that all hope is gone. Some will even begin to despair to the point where they say, "God has forsaken me." The Lord says that He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) There is a reason that He will not. He cannot forget His people whom He loved even though a mother could forget her child.

The Lord says that we are graven upon the palms of His hands. To be graven means not to be removed. Job wanted his words graven with an iron pen and lead in a rock forever. (Job 19:23-24) He wanted something that would not pass away. There is something in the palms of the Lord's hands that will not pass away. Our names are there! And, there was a time, when those names were tested by the powers of darkness. When Christ came down from heaven, they pierced His hands and feet.

But even though they thought that they had defeated the man called Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ victoriously had our names cemented in His palms when He cried out, "It is finished." At that moment, our names were legally graven in His palms, even though they were there by promise before the foundation of the world. So, that is how our names are graven on His palms.

He goes on to say that our walls are continually before Him. In the context, He is speaking about Zion (church). Not only does He eternally have us as the apple of His eye, but He watches over Zion on a continual basis. He promised that His church would never fall (founded on the Rock), and we can take comfort in the fact that the reason that she will never fall or fail is because her walls are continually before Him. He has set the bounds of our habitation, and He watches over her. While He has appointed undershepherds to care for local bodies, He is still the one Over Shepherd that will keep the flock safe from harm and misery. Let us ever be thankful that our walls are continually before Him and that we have been graven upon His palms.
In Hope,

Bro Philip