Presence Devotion #31

-

Jody Destry – Young Adults Pastor

Scripture

Psalm 8 (ESV)

O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
 the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,
 and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
 and crowned him with glory and honour.

You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
 you have put all things under his feet,

all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Insight

We live on a mountain, and throughout winter we experience lots of mist and fog but this morning was different. This morning as I walked out my front door I was met by a truly breathtaking scene. The flowers have started to bloom on the trees in our garden, a happy reminder that spring is surely on the way and a resounding burst of sun rays were flooding through the almost magical mist that was hovering about me. It was so mesmerising that I stopped dead just for a few moments to drink in the beauty of it. I was reminded again in that moment of how intentionally and intricately the Master Craftsman has designed this earth, our temporary home and I was humbled again that he would call you and I to be part of the great story He is writing.

King David sure knew how to write beautiful poetry and songs. Here in Psalm 8, the words speak in colours and conjure the most amazing pictures as we read it. Like seeing an artist at work painting the skies and landscape, beyond the beautiful picture being created for us, David describes God’s majesty and splendour. He then brings a truly challenging message about who God has called us to be and how we are to respond to him.

In verse 6 we read that we’ve been given dominion over what God created on this earth. What does that mean for us? There are two important things for us to learn here. Firstly that we’ve been assigned a role by creator God and secondly, that with that role comes the responsibility to steward it well and to walk in obedience.

At some point in our faith journey we all ask the question: ‘What am I called to do?” There is something deep within us that longs for significance, to know what our unique contribution to the world is and how we will leave our finger print or make our mark. This longing for significance is very real and part of how God put us together but too often we get the focus all wrong – we put ourselves in the centre and make it all about us and before we know it months and years have passed and we’re still going around in the same circle asking the same question in search of an answer that doesn’t exist in the place we’re searching for it. In this Psalm we are reminded that it’s God’s majesty and presence that humbles us and positions us for Kingdom significance. When we surrender our dreams, our plans, our striving, our self-promoting and our desire for control, and when we acknowledge and remember that He is God and we are not, only then does God elevate us and promote us to the position that we have been designed for. And only then will we truly know where fit into His plan and our lives will take on  the significance He intended.

Reflective Questions

1. What is God asking you to surrender?
2. What is God asking you to take responsibility for in your life and in your faith journey right now?
3. What would it look like for you to let go of trying to ‘have it all figured out’ ?