Focus

Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for a peace at this time.

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Read

Psalm 8 (NRSV)

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

Thou whose glory above the heavens is chanted
by the mouth of babes and infants,
thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars which thou hast established;
what is man that thou art mindful of him,
and the son of man that thou dost care for him?

Yet thou hast made him little less than God,
and dost crown him with glory and honor.
Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the sea.

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

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Reflect

I love being outside. Although I live in a city, I have been blessed to have a job that has taken me to some remote areas of the state. I love seeing the hills and the trees. There is a beauty, even a majesty, in the creation that surrounds us.

Occasionally, I make it a point to head to a rural area and lose myself in God’s creation, either hiking or riding horseback through the woods. When I’m lost in the woods (never truly lost, but at least deep enough not to hear traffic) and I look around me at the trees, I am struck by how big everything is and how small I am.

The psalmist asks, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them?” We are small; we are fragile; but we are loved. God has seen fit to call us and to claim us as God’s own. This is a cause for great rejoicing. I encourage you to remember your smallness today and to remember that even in our smallness we are God’s

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Pray

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth. We are small when compared to the rest of creation. We are frail at times. We are needy and even, at times, selfish. You see us in our smallness and you take delight in us. Thank you for the gift of your glory that you have bestowed upon us in Jesus. May we live this day and everyday grateful for your mercy. Amen.

Go with God.