Maybe it is because I am in desperate need of a haircut, but I have been completely glued to Matthew 10:30 for the past few weeks: “But the very hairs of your head are numbered.” It’s a verse that I have heard read and quoted many, many times. I have to confess though; I have never really understood its significance. God knows everything, He is omniscient, to use the theological term; so the fact that He knows the number of hairs on my head has been great trivia, but not great revelation. A few weeks ago during a prayer meeting this verse was read again and for the first time it gripped me. Since then I just cannot seem to stop thinking about it. What I had always considered to be an act of His power has suddenly been realized as an act of His intimacy and concern.
In Mark 14, on the night of Jesus’ arrest, He told his disciples that they would all “stumble” and “be scattered”. Peter resisted, arguing with Jesus that not only would he not “stumble”, but that he would die before he denied Him. Jesus told Peter that he would not only “stumble”, but he would deny Him three times before the sun rose the next morning; but then, in Luke’s account, Jesus told Peter “when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Before Peter and all the other disciples had failed that night Jesus had prepared for their repentance and redemption. Henry Blackaby writes of this passage, “God always knew the disciples would fail His Son; He was not caught by surprise. He had made provision for their shortcomings, knowing He would eventually develop them into apostles who would fearlessly preach the gospel, perform miracles and teach others.” Making allowances does not mean that Jesus overlooked or excused their “stumble”; but instead that He knew them, their present, past, and future so well that He provided them with a way of redemption, even before they had walked into their temptation that He knew would cause them to fail. Revelation 13:8 refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. His death and resurrection were not a reaction to our sin; they were a decision of knowledge and intimacy in which God created man knowing we would sin, but also knowing that He would redeem all those that would trust fully in the work of His Son.
I believe that I know my wife better than anyone else on earth. I love her dearly, but I have no idea how many hairs she has on her head. Have you ever stopped to think about the amount of intimacy and concern it takes to know the number of hairs on someone’s head? How many things are more variable than the number of hairs on your head? Knowing that number is not a one-time count, it is a constant awareness; it requires desire, concern, passion, love, and extreme intimacy. That is what Jesus was revealing in Matthew 10:30. The full context was a calling to be obedient to God and not allow the fear of man to contaminate our relationship with Him. I am discovering that the only way to prevent and defeat this contamination is to understand the extent of God’s intimate knowledge and concerned love. He is not far off on a throne seated in great power. He is not on the other side of a chasm waiting in judgment for me to make it to the other side. He is not even walking on earth in disappointment and discontent because of our failures and quickness to stumble. He is seated in Heaven as His Son makes constant and intimate intercession on our behalf. He is in His Spirit invading the earth convicting men of both sin and righteousness and He is dwelling within those who love Him. His love is everlasting, in that, He has loved us from before there was time and will love us long after time has ended. He sticks closer than a brother, in that, He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is intimately concerned for us, in that, He even, right now, knows the number of hairs on our heads. That is not just an act of power; it is one of the greatest acts of love I have ever known. No matter what your circumstance is, no matter what your sin has been, no matter what your future holds, He is so near that He has counted and continues to count your hair. The next time you feel forgotten, the next time you are tempted to give up, the next time you feel disappointed with God’s will just remember this one thing, He has counted our hair, how could we believe that He would harm us, when He loves us enough to even count our hair?