On The Gittith

Posted on July 3, 2018 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” —  Psalm 8:3-4 (NASB)

Some days just feel like they’re one mundane event after another, don’t they? We wake up to coffee, check the weather and traffic before we leave to go to the same mundane job that feels like we’ve had it forever, and nothing really feels right about the world around us. Sure, we’ve got our stuff to do, but it feels as if we are overlooked, especially those of us who are getting into that age bracket where we’re in between “already did that” and “retiring from it.” It’s not that what we are doing is now useless to do, but it seems to have lost its impact or importance to us or the environment around us.

I’m not too sure about you, but for me this would be a perfect point in time to go vertical and Psalm 8 is one of those things that David wrote that comes in handy when we feel as if life has just passed us by, set us aside or made us feel overlooked. It also has been said that this Psalm was written after David slayed Goliath, and if that is the case this Psalm may be just what you’re looking for, in Scripture, to inspire you to over come that giant feeling of insignificance in your life.

The first thing this Psalm starts with is praise not petition. “O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!” Now just as a side note here, the difference between praise and petition is the absence of self and David gives us that example here in his opening verse. He’ll also go on to acknowledge the creation on earth by writing that God’s strength is even uttered through the simple gurgles and smiles from infants. Then comes the question of all questions…what is man that You take thought of him?

Ya know, up against a mighty God, man can seem pretty insignificant. Everything God has created is good but the stuff we can create, let’s just say has an expiration date and really doesn’t have any eternal glory. However, there are three things we need to keep in mind that were granted us when we were created. We were made lesser than the angels, but still crowned with glory and majesty as we were to rule over other earthly creatures. That may have gotten messed up after The Fall in The Garden but through God’s grace we can still hold on to that initial gift of God.

The two things that come through that gift is that the Creator of the universe has us in His thoughts and that He cares for us. Now it is easy to not hold on to this when life has become very blah and in the back of our minds that ugly little voice goes “big deal.” This is the moment where humiliation and humility meet and if we’re not careful it can go south really quick. Peter knew this and gave us this encouraging word, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” In a very Kingdom purpose way, you can combat your feeling of insignificance in this fallen world with a healthy dose of humility knowing that you still have purpose.

The writer of Hebrews walks us through something that is very messianic and prophetic. In the 2^nd chapter we see that he will repeat what David has written in Psalm 8:4-6 and then take it a step further. “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). If ya kinda stop and ponder on this, knowing the position that Jesus has in the universe, ya gotta admit that humility is the better way to face the day.

I was recently at an event where I met up with a few cousins I hadn’t seen in quite some time. We took a moment to figure out how many cousins we have on the one side of our family. It was kinda funny seeing us try to remember all the names of the 28 cousins I have on the Hughes side of my life. But it isn’t like that with God because He isn’t trying to remember, He just does. Jesus made this cool assurance that we can find in Matthew’s Gospel, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:30-31) Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) has been married for 25+ years (Kathy), has a married son (Kevin) and a daughter in college (Karen). He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.

The Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 5-8 |You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Daily Quote:  “There is no one who is insignificant in the purpose of God.” — Alistair Begg

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God, Psalm 146:5