READ: ISAIAH 49:15-16; ROMANS 8:35-39

Have you ever wondered, “Where is God now? Doesn’t He love me?” Isaiah 49:15-16 presents one of the most beautiful expressions of God’s everlasting love in all of Scripture. God contrasts His love with one of the closest of human bonds: that of a mother with her nursing child. As unlikely as it is, a woman could forget her child. Yet God says He will never forget us. Then God says He has inscribed us—some translations even say “tattooed” us—on the palms of His hands!

Why is this significant? Because our palms contain some of the most sensitive areas of skin on our bodies. Getting a tattoo on your palm is not only extremely painful, but it can also take weeks or even months to heal.

When God says, “I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands,” He is using figurative language to say that He would go to the excruciating pain of having our names tattooed on His palms so that we would be ever before His face. Isn’t that incredible?

And it gets even better. This Scripture points forward to Jesus. God loves us so much that He took on human flesh and went through the excruciating pain of the cross to be with us. And Jesus’s hands still bear those scars.

If you know Jesus, you can rest assured that your name is permanently inscribed on God’s palm. This represents all of you—your fears, loneliness, circumstances, desires, and dreams. Everything that concerns you is always before Him.

Because…He loves you. • Cheryl Elton

• Can you think of a time God’s love felt distant? We all experience times like these, but the truth is God wants to be with us. Our sin separated us from God, yet Jesus came to endure the pain of the cross so our sins could be forgiven and we could have an intimate and lasting relationship with Him. How could it be helpful to meditate on this good news through Scriptures like today’s?

• In Psalm 42, David struggles with acknowledging God’s love while feeling far from it, even crying out to God, “Why have you forgotten me?” (verse 9). How can David’s raw lament in this psalm provide comfort to us?

• If you want to dig deeper, read Isaiah 53:5-6; John 3:16; 14:18; 20:24-27; Hebrews 13:5.

“Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” Isaiah 49:16 (CSB)