You are Small yet Seen (Psalm 8:3-4)

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?
Psalm 8:3-4

There is a two-fold wonder in these verses which should bring us to our knees in worship of our great God.

First, there is God’s transcendence—His complete otherness. This is noted in how wondrous and voluminous God’s creation is. Take this verse practically today. Join the psalmist in beholding the grandiosity of God’s creation. Go outside on a clear night and behold the moon and the stars; realize how small you are in comparison to the expanse of space. Or rise early and marvel at the explosion of a sunset; see the Master Artist strike the sky with scarlet and crimson. God placed us here in this big world that we, with the very eyes He gave us, might see the works of His fingers and worship. This one observation is true: when we behold creation, we are awe-struck; we know we stand in the work of our great Creator. There is One who is higher, mightier, wiser, more powerful than we. Like David, we bow in worship.

But there is something greater in this verse than God’s sheer power as Creator. The second of this two-fold wonder is God’s immanence—His nearness. David strikes the chord with a question: God, with all you have created, from the spinning galaxies to the beaming moon—with the seemingly infinite expanse that makes me a speck of dust in the universe—why do you still care for me?

Oh what a glorious truth! The question is not meant to be answered. For the answer is in our response: we are meant to worship. This powerful, completely-other-than God who created everything in our eye’s sight (and everything outside it) has drawn near to you and me. David says God is “mindful” of us. This means He is aware of us and knows our every need. Jesus teaches us the same: “your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Mt 6:8). If God created the stars, moon and planets, holding them together with the gravity of His glory—how will he not also care for you, O child of God? There is nothing you need which He is not capable of providing, yet in His wisdom He knows how to provide in His timing. Rest in the perfect power and provision of our great God today. He is mindful of you.

But more than this: know He is near. David says God cares for you. But how is this true? How can the transcendent God draw near to such lowly creatures as ourselves? The answer is in Jesus. There is no greater proof that God cares for you than the coming of the God-man, Jesus Christ. “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 2:9). Do you need comfort today? Jesus became like you in every way and sympathizes with your sorrow. Do you need rest today? Jesus says “come to me, all you who labor…and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Do you need peace today? The God-man says “my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27). If you ever doubt the nearness and care of God, you need look no further than Jesus Christ. The Creator entered the world as a man to seek and save the lost. The same hands which spun galaxies like a spider are the same hands which bore a splintered cross to save us from our sins. Oh God, who am I that you care for me? His love is proven in those nail-scarred hands.

So we have these two truths hanging together just as gravity holds together the galaxies: God is way too high for us to understand, but He has also drawn so near so we know He cares. The same God who knows all things—to the very depths of our being, the hidden things we dare not uncover—loves us to the highest heavens.

So look at the moon and the stars tonight: see how little you are in comparison to creation. Yet also look at Jesus Christ: in the eyes of God you are most precious—precious enough to be bought with the spotless blood of the lamb.

Oh God, who am I that you are mindful of me?

More Joy (Psalm 4:7)

You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Psalm 4:7

The content of Christian joy is never placed in material possessions or temporal prosperity. Rather, it is always placed in the firm foundation of God’s character to us in Jesus.

Notice the contrast in this verse: while grain and wine abound for those who do not know God, David, without those things, still has more joy than them. It must be therefore that David’s source of joy is not based on the whimsy securement of physical pleasure, but on who he knows his God to be. Even if he doesn’t have luxury, physical safety, good health, or a good reputation in this life—he has his God, and this is enough.

Jesus told his disciples in John 16:22 that “no one will take your joy from you.” How could this be true if our joy was based on something that could be gone tomorrow? Jesus is centering our hearts on the eternal. He is grounding our lives—what we worship, what we put our hope in, where we derive satisfaction—in Himself.

Reader, this world will always leave you gasping for joy. Others can never live up to who you wish they were. You will never be all you desire to be. The world is in turmoil, there are forces outside your control—like sickness, suffering and sorrow—which daily intrude your self-contrived plans for the “good life.” When this happens, the first temptation is to narrow your focus on yourself and say “why me?” Somehow, we convince ourselves we are entitled to a life without trouble. But what if true joy can be had even with these things?

Get this: David had much to lack in this verse, but he still had more joy. So when our lives seemingly lack in whatever area we wish they wouldn’t, we must turn our gaze to what we have in God. The reason why David was satisfied is because he knew that God’s love for him was never-ceasing. As those in Christ, we know that God is for us, with us, and working all things together for our good. He knows what is best for us, so when unexpected trials and sufferings come, we are reminded by James to “count it all joy…when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (Jas 1:2-3). Indeed, we are able to count our trials and sufferings as joy because we know that God, in His infinite wisdom, love and sovereignty, is able to use them for our good. And our ultimate good is to be made more like Jesus.

So when Jesus tells you that “no one will take your joy from you,” this is only possible if the entirety of your being is focused on Jesus Himself. For He—as the loving, tender, good Shepherd—never changes. And if He never changes, then your joy is secure. Not that your life will be free from trouble, or that you’ll never be sad, but that you can always have joy.

And often that perspective is what makes all the difference.

Hard Things (Psalm 60:3)

You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger
Psalm 60:3

In David’s time it was very common for the corporate body of Israel to view the outcome of national or political events as either God’s favor or indictment upon them. In this psalm, which sits within the context of a military campaign, we find David (an individual) lamenting for his people (a corporate body). As Christians we can learn from this practice, although we should never apply it on such a strict basis as the Israelites did: for we are not under a theocratic nation-state as they were, but under the heavenly kingdom of the Spirit. Even still, this psalm clearly expresses a difficult time for the Israelites, and it applies to ours as well.

First note the agent of the “hard things.” David does not hesitate to say it is God: “Lord, it is you who have made your people see hard things. God, you have given us this bitter wine!” As Christians, we must remember the sovereignty of our Lord. There is not one situation in which He does not exercise complete control, wisdom and direction over the outcome. He reminds us of this elsewhere through His prophet: “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things” (Isa 45:7). So we see that, as difficult as it may be in the “hard things,” God is in control of both our blessings and our brokenness, our triumphs and our tragedies, our laughter and our lament. When we are tempted to doubt God’s wisdom and goodness for what He allows in our lives, we must ask our souls like Job, “shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10).

Second, we must be careful to note that this does not make God the author of evil. Evil as the absence of good is foreign to God’s nature. We are not talking about evil in the moral sense, but evil in the sense of disaster, calamity, strife, or suffering—the effects of living in a fallen world. What we see through David’s words is that God is able to use these various sufferings for our good. It is easy to believe that suffering is pointless; it certainly feels that way. But there was an immediate purpose for the staggering wine of affliction which God made His people drink. It was to make them trust in Him. Our “hard things” have a way of emptying our self-dependence and making us realize how frail and destitute we really are apart from God. Unless God shows up, we don’t know if we will be able to carry on. This makes us cling to God, and this is good. God’s purposes for our sufferings are often outside of our immediate view, but through grueling dependence we learn to say “whom have I in heaven but you?” (Ps 73:25). When everything is stripped away, only God remains. So we see that God has a purpose for our hard things.

Finally, we recollect the plural nature of this psalm: lament is done together. There were national events occurring which caused the Israelites to grieve. So too will there be events in our lifetime that should grieve the corporate body of Christ. On a smaller level, in our local bodies there will inevitably be hardships among our individual members. In these times we must remember that the sufferings of one impact the whole. Paul tells us to “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rm 12:15). In your sufferings, then, you need the body of Christ; and in others’ sufferings, they need you.

To end, the good news is that in our “hard things,” we have One who has walked the wasted roads of a fallen world with us, and for us. The Good Shepherd Himself wept at the grave, grieved loss, felt betrayal, was falsely accused, and took a piercing bed of thorns upon His head. This Jesus is Emmanuel—God with us. So no “hard thing” will remain that way. In reality, it is “light and momentary” (2 Cor 4:17, NIV), for we know that He is there with us, He has beaten death, and one day He will return to make all things new.

The Earth is the Lord’s (Psalm 24:1)

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof…
Psalm 24:1

Our lives are often marked by a forgetfulness of these two truths about God: His all-seeing presence, and His ownership of all things. This verse speaks to both, and we will take each in turn.

First, His all-seeing presence. David says the fullness of the earth is God’s. In other words, there is not a square inch where He is not present. He is everywhere at all times, though He is distinct from His creation as the Creator. Theologians call this God’s omnipresence. However, because of sin’s dimming effects in our lives, the natural human tendency is to run away from the Lord’s presence. This is what our first parents did in the Garden of Eden once their sin ruined their innocence and caused great shame (Gn 3:8). They tried to mask their guilt with man-sewed fig leaves, but the Lord, seeing all things, knew their inward rebellion. We are no different from them—trying to cover our sin with good works, excuses, leisure, or pleasure—anything that will keep us one more moment from seriously reflecting on our condition before a holy God. We are afraid that if we stop, we must reflect on the absurdity of our attempts to run away from God. We are like a hamster on a wheel: we run, thinking we are escaping, but in reality we don’t move one inch. This is what we do when we forget God’s presence.

Why do we try to hide? David knew he could not. Elsewhere he asked, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Ps. 139:7). It is only when we bring our sin to the Lord in humble cross-examination, knowing that God sees what we have done, yet has graciously provided our forgiveness in Christ while we were yet enemies (Rm 5:8)—only then can we draw near to God’s all-seeing eye. Amazingly, while he sees the depths of darkness in sinners’ heart, He has chosen to draw near by making Christ the propitiation for our sins. Christ reminds us of God’s nearness to us—even when our sin or feelings attempt to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rm 8:39).

Secondly, this verse teaches us to remember God’s ownership of all things. David says “the earth is the Lord, and the fullness thereof.” He does not limit God’s reign to a geographical boundary. He does not limit God’s possessions to a finite amount of resources. He does not limit God’s control to a select few circumstances. No, the entire globe is under the grip of a sovereign God. He owns all things: the money in your bank account, the palaces of princes, the gold under the earth. He is in control of all things: the movement of the birds, the breath of a child, the heartbeat of the elderly. He moves all things according to His purpose: turning evil to good, suffering into beauty—the cross into salvation. The earth is the Lord’s. As Abraham Kuyper once said, “There’s not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is Lord over all, does not exclaim, ‘Mine’!”

But we struggle, once again, to remember this truth. Our self-sufficiency dims our view of God’s control over our lives. How easily we believe that life is in our hands, that we turn the wheel, that we sail the boat, so to speak. Our vision is so short-sighted. We grasp onto the limbs of life while forgetting the trunk of God’s power which holds us up. Everything we have therefore is a gift from God, who gives and takes away (Job 1:21). Our time. Our money. Our children. Our physical health. Our future. Either we recognize God’s claim on every domain of our lives (i.e., the fullness) or He does not have any at all. There is no middle ground. You cannot at once say “Jesus is Lord” while hiding how you spend your pennies (Mt 6:24). You cannot at once say “God is first” without an honest audit of your time.

Yet under Christ’s full reign, there is a sweetness when we surrender every part of our lives to say “Lord, what would you have of me in _________?” When we order our lives under the truth that all we have is God’s, we are free to give our best to the Lord. And when we live with the awareness that God Himself is our greatest treasure—that the all-surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus deserves the throne of our hearts—only then will we see that everything in this earth, therefore, is by God, from God, for God, and to His glory.

So daily we are called to recognize these wondrous truths: there is no where you can run from the Lord, and there is nothing you have which is not already His. In Christ we have the privilege of drawing near to the all-seeing One, and in Christ we have our greatest possession of all: God Himself. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.

Do What Makes You Happy..?

“The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.”
Psalm 58:3

In our culture it is very easy to dismiss what the Bible says concerning human nature. Generally, our world proposes that human beings are naturally good people who sometimes do bad things. They advocate that any intensely wayward behavior or disorder can be chalked up to a malnourished childhood, societal oppression, or simply an unmet need. When human nature is given such a benevolent stroke of sincerity, almost any action can therefore be justifiable. For instance, the world may say: “Are you unhappy in your marriage? If so, it is not because of you, oh poor friend, it’s because of that other person who just isn’t right for you! Just leave and do what makes you happy.”

Do what makes you happy. That is the whisper of the world today. But oh, how foolish we are to believe the lie. We imagine and paint scenarios in our minds of the “good life”; we fantasize what life on “the other side” may look like. We play god by living off our desires. No, we let our desires become our god.

Oh please do not miss the psalmist’s words today: the wicked are estranged from the womb. This is the natural state of any human being. From the womb we know evil, as we grow we do evil, and as we are old we seek evil. It is not to say we are as terrible and despicable as we could be; rather, it is to say that our desires are naturally bent towards throwing off the chains of God’s authority. It is not necessarily pure-evil-all-the-time behavior, but it is a daily waywardness which takes the form of living for the god “ME.” It is not even doing the most heinous of crimes, but it is daily participating in the first crime: pride before God. You see, being wicked from the womb is our natural state. We naturally rebel against the Lord and His anointed, Jesus Christ. We are naturally at odds with our Creator.

Oh reader, how I implore you to understand the state of your condition apart from God’s rescue of your life. Without Him, how can you do any eternal good? All you know is to live for yourself and your kingdom. Yes you may truly “care” for others, but what is that worth when all is said and done? The best way to live your life is to bring others to God; but how can you do so if you refuse His complete authority and rule in your life?

Reader, this is why you need a Savior. You may try your ‘best’ — and some people say that God accepts your ‘best’ — but I’m sorry to tell you that even your ‘best’ effort is still a dirty rag to a holy God (Isa 64:6). You are still under His judgment for your rebellion.

But praise be to God for sending His very Son, God in the flesh, to bear your sin upon a cross. Forgiveness is offered to you if you will accept it. Do you see your need? Will you accept God’s grace?