God remembers - we are dust

We're continuing our study of Psalm 103, with these verses for today:

for he knows how we are formed,    he remembers that we are dust.  The life of mortals is like grass,    they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone,    and its place remembers it no more. (v. 14-16)

These are incredible verses.....it's an incredible Psalm!
The Spirit showed me this week that there is a huge connection between verses 14-16 and all that has gone before them, in verses 1-13.
This is it: God loves us, has compassion on us, shows mercy to us and forgives us -- all the things we've read so far in the psalm....why? BECAUSE HE KNOWS US!
And get this: His knowledge of us does not repel Him. It doesn't disgust Him. And even better, His knowledge of us doesn't forever terminate His blessings.
Wow.
I guess this is what we'd call divine logic.
It certainly isn't the way that humans think about things. We're all about "what is deserved." "Fairness." "Justice." Or, put another way, "getting our just desserts."
Well, that isn't how our Father thinks. And I, for one, am truly glad! What if He DID look down and think like we did?  We're all about slights and insults and getting even, if we allow our natural, sinful side to ride uppermost.... Oh, she said such a mean thing about me! Well, I know things about her family that I can say...just wait until she gets what she deserves!  He certainly deserves his comeuppance after acting that way towards our pastor. And on, and on....

And what if we did get our just desserts? The Bible says there are some pretty clear consequences to our flaws and our sins:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (I John 1:8)

Grandma used to tell me, "Actions have consequences...."
Our tendency would be to say, "well, God knows I'm dust, and that I'm prone to wander, so He will have nothing to do with me." But it's precisely because He knows what we are made of, that He chooses to shower us with grace and mercy. It's because He knows how we function, and how we think and feel -- and how often we fail -- that He showers us with compassion and saving love. We could never hope to earn this on our own.
Oh, how blessed we are when we remember, God sees us in His Son, clothed in His righteousness.  He knows full well what we are, in and of ourselves, and He sees the work of His grace along with the reverence in which we regard Him....and He has compassion as a father on His children. In fact, He sings over us in affection:

The Lord your God is in your midst,    a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness;    he will quiet you by his love;he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

We don't need to be fearful. We don't need to hesitate. We will find Him full of compassion and kindness no matter how often or how deeply our "dust" may lead us into sin. He is an ever-flowing fountain of forgiveness for those who will turn away from their sins and seek Him for safety.

This verse also calls to mind the time of year that we find ourselves in now. It seems that the winds are picking up, and each storm or fitful breeze seems to bring a shower of leaves to our feet. Where did all those lovely green leaves go? Well, yes, there is a scientific explanation about sunshine and chlorophyll, but to put it simply, the leaves are dying. Does the tree remember each leaf? Nope. Does the wind? No.
But God remembers each one of us, and He arranged the changing of the seasons, just as surely as He planned for our lives and for our deaths. If we are here today and gone tomorrow, and that's the end of the story, how dismal it would be!
Not much hope there!
But let's think about it. Our hope is not in man. Our hope is not in nature.

Do not put your trust in princes,    in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,    whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth,    the sea, and everything in them—    he remains faithful forever. (Psalm 146:3-6)

We have something (actually, Someone) far more safe and secure than that:

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied... Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”(I Corinthians 15:19, 51-54)

Our hope is in the everlasting God! Who knows us, and loves us still!