Engraved on God’s Hands
By Karen D’Amore
“I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.”
Isaiah 49:15b, 16a
Sealing my youthful commitment to follow Jesus “all the days of my life,” a gold-engraved baptism certificate bears my name. Years later, that trampled commitment would lay strewn along a road of rebellion. In those dark rebellious years, I didn’t think much about God. Actually, I had forgotten Him! Many treacherous years of separation spanned that childhood baptism and my return Home…to my Heavenly Father’s arms. In the course of that journey back Home, “commitment” took on a radical new meaning.
In those wandering years, when I had forgotten God…He NEVER forgot me. Today’s Scripture poetically reminds me that He “engraved me on the palms of His hands.” The Hebrew word for engraved means “inscribed” - -a cutting into stone that’s indelible, permanent. God’s commitment to us is permanent! He cannot stretch out His hands without being reminded of us. He remembers that we belong to Him. He’s committed to protect and provide, to comfort and guide. Modern day tattoos remind me of a similar concept: They cannot be completely removed…and nothing we can do will remove our name from God’s hands. In contrast to Jimmy Buffet’s song about tattoos, “Permanent Reminders of a Temporary Feeling,” God proclaims a permanent reminder of a permanent feeling…that feeling of His great love for us.
As tattoos have become widely prevalent in our current culture, many friends have indulged in the inking experience. With tattoos bearing the names of loved ones, present or lost, or characters representing memorable events in their lives, the stories behind the colorful inscriptions are touching. Listening to these stories, each tattoo bore a common purpose…to remember something significant…something so significant they wanted to make the memory permanent.
My most significant memory is the day I re-committed to a personal relationship with my Heavenly Father. As I placed my life back into His loving hands…there was my name; He was still reserving a place for me. A commitment I once took lightly and abandoned, I have chosen to permanently memorialize. Just below the palm of my hand is a tattoo signifying my “Faith in God.” A bold, permanent reminder of my commitment to Him, and a statement to others of whom I belong to! Just as my name is on the palm of God’s hands…His name is now on mine. And just as I will never forget the painful process of my tattoo; I am forever reminded of the great pain God took upon Himself to permanently call me His!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Have you committed to a relationship with God? What can you use as a constant reminder of that commitment?
2. Will you inscribe that commitment on your heart?
FURTHER READING:
Isaiah 31:1; Jeremiah 31:3; Hebrews 13:5
Married to Dan, Karen, a retired police officer, currently works as a Manicurist at Craig Berns Salon. She’s a leader for Oakwood’s Tuesday a.m. Bible Study and a volunteer at the Wildlife In Need Center.
