“When 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?” Psalm 8:3-4 (NIV)

I was grateful for the dark worship auditorium that concealed my running makeup and shame-filled soul.

Events and behaviors earlier that year had led to a broken relationship and failed attempts to repair it. I was ashamed of my inability to make things right, no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to do better. To be better.

In this moment in church, as we belted out praise, I wondered, Lord, do You care?

This was my repeated question during summer walks as the sun set behind the Rocky Mountains. The brilliant colors God painted across the sky with His finger were awe-inspiring. If He cared about that, did He care about me?

The writers of the Old Testament often spoke about God’s finger to communicate His creative power and authority over His creation. God’s finger was also known for sending destructive plagues and inscribing the Ten Commandments (Exodus 8:19; Exodus 31:18). But recently I discovered something else.

In John 8:1-11, Jesus was teaching in the temple courts when teachers of the law brought in a woman caught in adultery. As they accused and sentenced her to death, Jesus bent down and wrote in the dirt. How many times have we wondered what Jesus was writing? And why did John even mention it in his Gospel?

John didn’t just say Jesus bent down to write in the dirt. He said, “Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger” (John 8:6b, NIV, emphasis mine).

God’s finger is the finger that created the heavens and us.

It’s the finger that inscribed the perfect law.

And now this finger wrote in the dirt.

Oh, to be face to face with Rabbi Jesus, who holds the power in His finger to put sinners to death, but instead He set the accused woman free from sin and shame (John 8:10-11).

God has all power in His finger, yet He chooses to forgive us. To bend down low and write in the dirt. Dirt He used to create us (Genesis 2:7).

He first wrote His law on stone tablets; in Christ, He now writes His love on our hearts.

“When 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?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

Sweet sister, what shame or sin might you carry today that keeps you stuck? Picture yourself in the place of the woman in John 8, your accuser bringing you to Jesus to condemn you. Turn your eyes to His face as He stoops down where you are crumpled on the ground in shame. As He kneels in front of you, He says, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more” (John 8:11, MEV).

Oh, Lord! I’m speechless in Your presence, here in the dirt where You reach out Your hand so I can grasp the very finger that created me and set me free. May I never let go. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

No one is perfect … Yet so many of us try to be! But God has better for us than the exhausted pace we’ve been running at. Discover how to live truly at peace by tuning in to Dr. Joel Muddamalle’s most recent teaching, “Why Am I So Afraid of Failure?” … Start watching on YouTube here.

ENGAGE

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

John 3:17-18, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned …” (NIV).

Romans 8:1-2, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (NIV).

Have you ever experienced deep shame that you needed God’s finger to heal? In the comments, share what it means for you to live in Christ without condemnation.

© 2024 by Jodi Harris. All rights reserved.