Devotionals

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Born for shock!

You were born to be awed and God is the One to make it happen! His greatness is many things but one thing it is above all the rest is it’s incomprehensible! It is simply impossible for the finite mind to grasp the infinite wonder and magnitude of our Father God. We are sorely limited when we try to describe him but we try still. By far the clearest display of the majesty of God is seen when he sent his only Son Jesus to earth. This demonstration of greatness is unparalleled in all his acts of creation and stands at the top of the list. Should the world in every corner be filled a hundred feet high with books written about this one glorious act, we could do no more than see a mere shadow of the truth that this one act implied. But before Jesus came David did his very best to render with words the grandeur of God. Psalms 8 shows us one of his attempts.

It begins with “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is you name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.” Then he concludes the Psalm with the same phrase in verse 9. Sandwiched between the two is a display of the majesty of God’s name in three ways.

First God stills his enemies by bestowing strength upon the weak. David says it like this in verse 2, “Out of the mouth of babes and infants you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.” God’s glory is showed to the world when he displays his strength in and through the weak, the helpless, and the most unlikely. This is precisely why Paul said he gloried in his weakness, so the world could see the unvarnished power of God through an ordinary man and those who saw would see with amazement! God could vanquish his enemies by his own outstretched arm or through mighty men and powerful people but in so doing his glory would be a shared glory. Instead, he chooses the weak, the unknown, the less talented, even the vile, to accomplish he purposes. This was to show the world that no enemy is more powerful than the weakest child of his and that there would be no doubt that the glory is his!

So when you are tempted to compare yourself to other more gifted and influential people remember he chose you because he ordained it that out of the mouth of “infants” would come a conquering power to still the avenger. You are chosen to be an “avenger stiller!”

The second way David attempts to display the awesome majesty of God is through the immensity of his creation. The heavens, the moon, and the stars give just a glimpse of the omnipotent greatness of God. Who can look at such things and not stand in awe?

Every year while we are ministering in the United States, Judy and I have the privilege of staying in a cabin owned by some very dear friends of ours. When I sit on the porch at Shiloh I am surrounded by the beauty of creation. The breeze touches my face and causes the leaves to fall and dance on the waves of the pond. A woodpecker announces his presence with vigorous hammering while choruses of birds sing in the morning sun. The trees stretch tall to touch the sky as though they are waking up from a nights rest. Then at night I step out into the darkness and gaze upward. There far away from city lights I see a most beautiful sight. Stars, millions of them all in a glorious disarray yet in perfect order shining in all of their splendor and he calls them all by their names. “O Lord how excellent is they name upon the earth!”

Then finally David stands amazed at the majesty of God as he compares the smallness of man to the vastness of his creator. It behooves David that God would even think of man. Man was God’s “crown jewel” of creation, bestowed with dominion and authority over all the rest of creation. It’s pretty powerful stuff to have all of creation placed under your foot yet God is so far above all of this that David is astonished that God would even think about him.

As David ponders all of this he stands dumbfounded at the majesty of God.

So should I!

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

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