Be Thoughtful

Nehemiah 2:1-2In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

The king was so thoughtful that he saw a difference with Nehemiah, he sensed a sadness in him and inquired after him. A gentile king was so thoughtful upon his servant, how thoughtful our loving Father would be upon us!! Even our loving Father pays attention to our emotions - sadness, bitterness, our fear and inquires after us. Apostle Peter calls Him the Lord who cares and in Tamil, it is beautifully written:

அவர் உங்களை விசாரிக்கிறவரானபடியால், உங்கள் கவலைகளையெல்லாம் அவர்மேல் வைத்துவிடுங்கள்.
‭‭1 பேதுரு‬ 5:7‬

அவர் நம்மை விசாரிக்கிற தேவன்!!

Yes, the Lord who inquires after us! The Lord who checks on our well being!!

Jesus checks on Mary Magdalene in her tears (John 20:15)
Our Lord checks on Cain in his anger (Gen 4:5,6)
Our Lord checks on Elijah in his discouragement (1 King 19:9)
Jesus checks  on Paul’s hardened heart (Act 9:4)
Jesus stopped by the fig tree to speak with Zacchaeus (Luke 19)
He stopped by the well to listen to the Samaritan woman. (John 4)
Our Lord remembered Hannah, He remembered Noah, remembered Cornelius!

Yes, He remembers and pays individual attention to His children.

Hence Psalmist sings praises to the Lord being amazed at the mindfulness of our Lord:

Psalms 8:3-4When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

As our Lord is mindful of us, pays individual attention to us and inquires after us, we are called to do the same to the precious souls that He has placed in our lives. We are called to be mindful of, pay individual attention to and inquire after the people around us. We never know how many Naomis, Hannahs, Samaritan women around us, go un-cared of, unless we stop by in our busy lives, and pay individual attention to them.

Joseph, in his sad, unjust prison life, stopped by, paid attention to and inquired after his fellow prisoners:

Genesis 40:7
So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, ”Why do you look so sad today?”

And we know, how through his mindful act, God accomplished His purpose. May we not lay our busyness, our sadness, our troubles as excuses to stop by, to pay attention to the souls in our lives.