2 Chronicles 7:14 begins with the phrase, "If my people..." This phrase is one that might easily be ignored or passed over quickly in an effort to get to the rest of the sentence. Yet when taking the time to consider the three simple words, one can very quickly become both amazed and overwhelmed. The God of All Creation, Yahweh, THE God, looks down at a bunch of disobedient people on a little planet in one corner of the universe, and calls them "...my people..." Wow. Were we to meditate on that for a lifetime, we still would not grasp the full meaning of those words.

What an incredible honor to be called "mine" by God. A recent song by the group MercyMe includes the image of God saying, "this one's mine." As I've heard that song, I have often pictured myself standing in a crowd of people with Jesus standing up in front. He looks out across the crowd and to my surprise points directly at me, looks me in the eyes, and says those words...this one's mine. What an amazing moment that would be. God willing to identify me as one of his people despite all of my flaws. Yet that is what he has done. He has chosen to love me and to listen to my clueless, self-centered prayers. And equally amazing is that he would love nothing more than to hear more of them.

I am His. Wow.