Our sitting and rising are often indicative of a change in circumstance and mindset. When we shift our location or position, it is usually with intention. Therefore, these events mark pivotal moments.
My rising from bed in the morning is a key moment. My attitude at that point often sets the tone for the start of my day. Many factors play into the feeling at my daybreak rising: How well did I sleep? What were my thoughts as I drifted off to rest the evening before? How well does my body feel? What events await me? What appointments will I face today? What human interactions await me today? How much work lies ahead?
Similarly, our sitting down in a particular spot marks important thoughts. Many factors play into our feelings as we sit down in our office chair: Why I am employed here? What is the real purpose of my life? Who will affirm my value today? Who will try my patience? Will my paycheck cover my financial needs? How late do I have to work? Am I smart enough to complete this project? Why don’t more people like me? Will I have a job next month?
Or, perhaps you are sitting down on the couch in your family room. It is your time to relax . . . or not to relax. Flowing through your mind as you sit in the comfort of your own home may be considerations such as: Why will my mind not stop racing? Will I be lonely again this evening? Why did I make bad decisions today? Why is my house not as nice as someone else’s home? What do I need to get done this week? What should I do with the next hour? Why do I feel so overwhelmed at the end of each day?
No matter where or when we sit – or where or when we rise – one fact remains . . . the Lord knows all about it. He is not a God removed from His creation. He is ever-present and all-knowing. David confidently proclaimed of the Lord in Psalm 139:2 (NIV), “You know when I sit and when I rise.” What comfort! I face no change in circumstances and no shift in thought alone. My God is with me, taking it all into His consideration. No other person on the face of the earth may understand my heart as I bend my knees to gently sit or plant my feet on the floor to firmly rise, but God – who is both on the face of the earth and above the earth – apprehends my every idea.
God sees every positional transition of my body and every mental activity of my mind. He knows. He knows. He knows. Moreover, God generates an endless number of thoughts toward us to cover every circumstance we face. Not only does He see, our Lord is thinking. He is sending His own heart straight to us. The God who is sovereign over the entire universe is thinking innumerable things about you! David said in Psalm 139:17-18 (NIV), “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.”
I recently learned that Lady Gaga has nearly eighteen million people following her on Twitter. This essentially means that at least eighteen million humans are thinking of her. That astounding fact is nothing compared to God’s thoughts aimed at you! His precious ideas for your life cannot even be counted! To meet every question of your heart is a thought of God. To surpass every movement and occurrence of your life is an answer of God. You need not be famous or talented or rich to have the only One who really counts thinking of you always.
Are you sitting and about to rise? Are you standing and about to sit? God knows. Whatever it is you will ponder or have to face in your change of position, God has a thought of His own to meet it and conquer it. He knows when you sit and when you rise, and His thoughts toward you are innumerable! Rise and sit . . . fully assured.