For the leader; “upon the gittith.” A psalm of David.
O Lord, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!
I will sing of your majesty above the heavens
with the mouths of babes and infants.
You have established a bulwark against your foes,
to silence enemy and avenger.
When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars that you set in place-
What is man that you are mindful of him,
and a son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him little less than a god,
crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
put all things at his feet;
All sheep and oxen,
even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!
Psalms 8:1-10
It sounds like today is about being joyful and praising God. That’s a great way to spend any day!
In particular, the psalmist seems to be struck by our humanity, how powerless we really are on our own. Yet, God gives us so much more than we can ever get alone.
I think this is a healthy perspective to keep in mind. Let’s think about what we could really accomplish without God. It’s easy for me to imagine that, sometimes, simply by looking back over my life. I think about times in my life when I wasn’t really being as faithful as I knew I should be. Those times seem to correlate with a lot more problems and heartaches.
On the contrary, when I think about times when I was closest to God, truest to my faith, I notice that those were some of my happiest moments in life. Of course, hindsight is usually 20/20, but it seems so obvious now. Where was that perspective when I needed it?
I suppose God knows how much more valuable these realizations are when we find them ourselves. That is similar to what I’ve learned as an educator. It’s easier to just tell kids what I want them to know, but it doesn’t mean as much to them. It’s always better when I can lead them to the experiences they need so they can discover what I want them to know. I guess what I’m saying is that God is obviously the ultimate educator!
So I look back at those times when I wasn’t so happy or when I was really struggling through life. I don’t regret those times or despise them. I have to appreciate that those were necessary experiences for me to understand what really matters. All of those experiences have led me to where I am, and so I have to praise God and thank Him for all of it.
Let’s say that prayer today. As the psalmist begins and ends today’s psalm, “O Lord, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth!”
Amen