He Cares

Jeremiah 29:11-13

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”


When I read the above verses, I realize the Lord is discussing our relationship. He’s telling me that I matter to Him; that I matter enough for Him to hear me and to listen when I come to Him with a pure heart. Not for my agenda, but to bless His plans for me.

This was difficult for me to grasp when I became a new Christian. I was raised in a Catholic home and was never taught that I could have a personal relationship with the Lord. I was never encouraged to read the Bible because “you wouldn’t understand it and the priest will read it on Sunday.” To me, God was unreachable, untouchable, and too big to understand.

I believe in the absolute sovereignty of God, and I will never underestimate His magnificence, majesty, and power. But if I see God only as the “Power Behind the Bible”, as I was taught as a child, I will completely miss the joy of knowing a loving Father, the assurance of a Holy Spirit that guides me through the rough terrain of my life and most of all, I’ll miss the gift that was given to me the day I accepted Jesus into my life. I’ll also miss the stories of the countless men and women whom God chose as examples of courage and obedience and lessons of disobedience and its consequences.

Although God deserves my respect and reverence, I also need to look to Him, through Jesus, as someone I feel comfortable enough with to run to, to share my fears with, to share my gratitude with, for loving me enough to let me know that He’ll never leave me. It’s comforting to know that He meets me where I am.

I grew up being afraid of God. Today I know that fear of God means reverence for God. To know that God is the creator of the universe...to know that He is powerful enough to move mountains but gentle enough to take the time to listen to me is a gift.

“Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!”

Psalm 116:2 (NLT)