Dwelling in the masses

Do you ever feel lost in the crowd? Completely overlooked?

Maybe you’re glad to blend in and go unnoticed because there’s less risk that way. Or maybe you’re hoping and praying that someone, anyone will take notice of you.

I sat on the beach this summer and listened to the waves roll in and out, in and out. The ocean is so vast. The world is huge. The people are many, and I’ve often wondered how God keeps up with each of us.

My problems. My worries. My dreams and desires. Sometimes I’m afraid they’re going unnoticed. There are many people who have greater needs than I do, and there are many people who are doing greater things than I am. Surely that’s who God notices, those who dwell on either end of the spectrum.

I’m in the middle, dwelling in the masses.

God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah and gave him a task. Honestly, it was HUGE and Jeremiah wasn’t so sure he was the right person for it. But what I find comforting at the very first of their encounter are God’s words:

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart...” (Jeremiah 1:5)

I, God, formed you.

I, God, know you.

I, God, have set you aside for this.

You and I are not lost in the masses, friends. We are not going unnoticed. In fact, God has been aware of us before our own mothers were. Long before we were even a blip on the radar, God knew us.

He calls the stars by name, he knows the numbers of hairs on your, and although it is so hard to imagine, the God of the entire universe is always mindful of both you and me.