As I write, I’m sitting by the little waterfall in my parents’ backyard, savoring the soothing sounds of falling water and the bees’ gentle buzz as they move from one mauve hosta trumpet to another. I marvel how freely, how fearlessly, they press themselves headfirst all the way into that tight space, gathering the goodness they came for before inching out backwards.

But then I realize, I too am freer to dive deep, gathering goodness, when I step for a bit out of life’s noise and find myself held in the gentleness of a soft breeze, sunlit hydrangeas, and quiet stillness.

I tasted this freedom to dive deep and savor goodness last month: seven luxurious days of silence during a guided silent retreat. (On my return, one of my nieces confided that a week without speech was her worst nightmare! For me, it was a place to breathe deeply, a longing fulfilled.)

There at the retreat, where I could imagine Jesus next to me as I sat on a two-person wooden swing and looked down into the deep river valley, or out at the layered blues of the evening mountains, where I could linger long over a single passage of Scripture or reach out to touch the cross that I happened upon during an early morning walk, there were special gifts for my soul.

Here’s one of the gifts I received, shared with the prayer that it will be a gift to your soul too.

A couple of days into the retreat, I was assigned Isaiah 43:1-7 to ponder and pray with.

I know this passage well. I’ve memorized it. God has often used it to guide and encourage me in challenging times.

But this time I saw in it a pattern I’ve never seen before. Biblical scholars call it a chiasm, named for the Greek letter chi, which looks like an X, because this pattern, common in biblical literature, can be diagrammed as the left half of an X. But drawing out the passage in my journal this time, I saw it less as half an X than as an arrow, guiding God’s love still deeper into my heart.

In this chiasm or arrow pattern, key words and themes introduced in the first half of the passage are repeated in reverse in the second half, all aiming towards the central point the author wants to make.

Do you see it? At the beginning (v. 1) and at the end (v. 7), the reminder that we are created and formed, hand-crafted by God Himself (A and A’). Then, moving inwards, paired reminders that we don’t need to be afraid (B and B’) because we are redeemed (C and C’), called by name (D and D’), and claimed by God as His own (E and E’). We’re reminded that He is with us (F and F’), and that He’ll give almost anything to defend and protect us (G and G’). And right in the middle, the central point to which all of these paired reminders have been pointing, “You are precious and honored in my sight, and I love you.”^1.

God creates us because He loves us. We don’t need to fear because we’re precious to God. He makes us His own and stays close to us as part of His honoring of us, His precious and dearly loved children.

God Speaks His Love Aloud

God didn’t stop with words on a page, though. He wasn’t content to write us a letter. He enfleshed this truth, coming close enough that we could touch the Living Word and see with our eyes and hear with our ears straight from the mouth of God that He is truly with us and for us.

In Jesus, each of the lines of this text come alive. He recreated and re-formed us: a new creation! He redeems us and makes us his own, giving for us this time not pagan kings but His own life. All this because, he says, “You are precious and honored in my sight, and I love you.”

. . . And Speaks It Again

There are times in our daily lives when we hear these words all over again as God reminds us, through his gentle and personalized care, that we really are precious to him. We really are beloved. One such instance for me was the precise timing of my retreat and the following days visiting friends back in Vancouver.

I moved to Nova Scotia to help support my parents in this season of their lives, so I wasn’t sure what to think when Dad needed emergency surgery while I was away. (He’s much better now :-). But, in the midst of my concern for my parents, God reminded me that He cares about me too. Yes, those I love are precious to God, and He brought people to walk alongside them while I was away, including Dad’s twin sister whose visit from England had been long-planned. I can trust God with the people I love.

And it’s not only those I love and care for who are precious to God: I am too. Precious enough that He guarded my time away, knowing that I needed a break. Precious enough that He was unwilling to give up that time alone in silence with me. Mom and Dad, you and I—each of us is precious and honored in His sight. Each of us is personally and intimately loved and tended and cared for.

May you hear God speak these words to you today, and know this truth in your bones: “You are precious and honored in My sight, and I love you.”

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What difference might it make in your day to know that you are precious to God and uniquely loved by Him?

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^1. If you’re a purist, you might notice that the lines in the second half of the passage aren’t in precisely the reverse order of the first half. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament still names this section as a chiasm, though summarizes the repeated sections a little more broadly: “Vv. 1 and 7 make the point that it is because of God’s special relationship to Israel that it will experience his grace. He created and shaped the nation long ago and will not forsake it now. V. 2 parallels vv. 5–6 in describing the encouragement that should arise from the knowledge that no calamity can swallow up the chosen people. Vv. 3 and 4 speak of Israel’s value to God: no cost is too high to ransom his people.” I find it easier to see the chiasm and the richness of the truths in it by breaking it down phrase by phrase—and that was how I experienced the passage during my retreat—so that’s how I’ve chosen to share it with you.