THE CURE FOR INADEQUACY
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Opening Prayer
Holy Spirit, give me a mind and heart overflowing with thanksgiving and praise today. Enable all that I am to glorify my Savior and show others who he is.
Read PSALM 8
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 8[a]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[c]
5 You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e]
and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their[g] feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Footnotes
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Have you ever felt inadequate for tasks or in relationships with a spouse, children, or friend? How did you resolve the issue?
This well-known psalm highlights a characteristic principle of God. He uses the weak and insignificant to shame the strong and the self-important.1 How God’s strength is furthered by the babbling or praise (literally ‘mouth’ v. 2) of babies is unclear, but it speaks of his power that he can use such inadequate means to silence his enemies (literally ‘to make them cease/stop’ whatever they are doing). God’s victory is achieved through seeming weakness, even defeat, as the cross demonstrates.2
The rest of the psalm (vv. 3–8) develops this idea of weakness and strength. God’s greatness is epitomized by the vast expanse of the sky created by using nothing more than his fingers (v. 3)! Yet, the Lord of the universe is aware of and cares for the specks of dust that we are (v. 4). Moreover, he has given us dignity as rulers over his creation (vv. 6–8). The language evokes Genesis 1, where humanity was made in God’s image to rule.3 In the ancient Near East, kings were the image of the national god because they represented him and his authority. As such representatives, we are only a little lower than God or the angels (v. 5; the Hebrew ‘elohim’ can mean either). Our delegated authority, however, cannot be exploitative but must conform to God’s standards. We are to care and look after his world as he did when he provided living space and food for all his creatures.4
The psalm teaches us that we are immensely valued by God; however, our worth is not earned but graciously bestowed. When we look at our weaknesses and limitations, it should humble us so that we do not become boastful, but we can also have confidence that we matter to God and that he can use us in his kingdom.
Apply
‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’5
Closing prayer
Loving Father, thank you that, no matter what my weaknesses are, I can accomplish anything you call me to because your power is at work in and through me.
1 See 1 Cor 1:26–29. 2 1 Cor 1:18–25. 3 Gen 1:26–28. 4 Gen 1:9–13, 29, 30. 5 2 Cor 4:7.
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