SCRIPTURE: Psalm 102
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. [Psalm 102:14]
The title describes this psalm as prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.
Through prayer and praise, this person is building their hope in the Lord by reminding themselves of His sovereign power and loving mercy.
He even cares about the stone walls and cobblestone streets of Jerusalem, He even cares about the dust – that is how much he cares!
God sees, God knows, God cares, and God will do something… soon!
Life may get hard and ugly, “but (the Lord) remains the same, and His years will never end. The children of your servants will live in His presence; their descendants will be established before Him.” [Psalm 102:17-28]

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. [Matthew 10:29-31]
Jesus echoes the same idea, speaking instead of sparrows and hair.
We will not fall to the ground outside of our Father’s care.
He remains God, always, and nothing can separate us from His love!
Yes, He is on the throne, but that does not make Him distant or uncaring.
The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death. [Psalm 102:19-20]
Yes, even down to the dust on the streets, and the hair on our heads, He sees, He knows, He cares, and He will help.

Like the psalmist, in times of weakness, struggle or despair, we could be helped by expressing our own lament (honest confession) and hope in the Lord.
When circumstances threaten to bring us down, instead of feeding our despair with more despairing thoughts, feed our hope with honesty lament and praise.
This will not suddenly change everything for us and make it better – though dark thoughts won’t help either – but this will point us in the right direction.
Feed the hope, not the despair.
Even if our prayer feels like putting a tiny pebble on a scale in the direction of hope, keep adding those pebbles.
One by one, prayer by prayer, we are slowly tipping ourselves towards hope, and seeing the help that God is working out for us, in His time.
But the same is true with despair; one by one, complaint by complaint, we slowly tip ourselves towards deeper darkness and despair with every negative thought.

God cares about the dust, about the hairs, He pays attention to every detail for us.
We can do the same, towards God: pebbles and straws of hope may seem small and insignificant, but they can break a camel’s back.
Tip your scale towards hope today by praying to and praising God, no matter what.

PRAYER:
Lord, open my eyes to see You love in my life, down to the dust and the hair. Tip my heart towards You, and help me to do the same.