	Bob Hostetler > Devotions

The Name on His Hand

by Bob Hostetler

"Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands" Isaiah 49:16a

"What's your phone number?"

A college student in my church had borrowed a pen to jot my phone number; he was to call me later in the day about a matter we'd discussed.

"Here," I offered. "I'm sure I have a piece of paper." I began searching my pockets.

"No, this is better," he said. "This way I know I won't lose it or forget it." I dictated the number and he wrote it -- on the palm of his hand.

His behavior seemed odd to me, until I thought about it. He was right; he might have misplaced a slip of paper or left it in his pocket and forgotten to call me. By writing the number in his palm, he assured that he would see it repeatedly throughout the day. And it worked. He called me that afternoon.

Isaiah's world was in a turmoil; things seemed to be fast falling apart and the prophet's contemporaries feared that God had forgotten them. So God gave him the message, "Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands," thus assuring them that they were repeatedly, constantly in His mind.

It is true also of us today. No matter how bad things may seem, no matter how many things seem to be happening all at once, God has promised that he will not forget us: we're written on the palm of His hand.

Prayer: Father, remind me today that you never need to be reminded.

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