A small dot on the small planet in the corner of a small and insignificant galaxy, that would be me! I laughed at the idea and took another deep gulp of the drink in front of me. What a joke it all was that there is a God that cares about a dot in a universe so vast we can’t comprehend it! Still that was exactly what the counselor I was seeing had just told me. Only a fool could believe such a thing. I laughed out loud this time and other bar stool sitters near me gave me the snake eye. I bet they were thinking, ‘another crazy drunk’. Maybe they were right.
Only an hour before I had been sitting in a dark office lined with bookshelves looking oh so impressive. Across the large, messy desk sat a woman who had that air of serenity only counselors have. Normally it resembles smugness to me but in her case, it was more like, well, I could not put my finger on it but the word peaceful came to mind. It was unnerving! So was her total confidence in the words she said,
“John, there is more to all of this than you want to admit. There is a God who loves you….”
As soon as she said that my antenna was up. I had not come to a counselling session to be preached at. The fact was that I would not be being counselled at all if it were not for the court order that had me locked into at least 10 weeks of one on ones. I certainly would not have chosen a Christian counsellor, but beggars can’t be choosers, as the old saying goes. If I wanted to get this over with, I had to take the first person available and guess what? Sure, I had been advised that Mary was a Christian and that her sessions would include Christian doctrine. Still I thought anyway I did this the shrink would try to indoctrinate me into some philosophy and I already knew the stuff a Christian would lay on me, but Mary was another kettle of fish. She seemed to actually believe and maybe even live her words. Like I said unnerving. I may be unnerved, I thought, but as she continued speaking, I knew I wasn’t going to be sucked in.
I must have spaced in thought, because I suddenly noticed she was no longer speaking and as I looked up, she was sitting with her hands folded watching me. Her eyes seemed to be searching and I felt somewhat naked and insecure. I lashed out,
“Why do you have to bring God into this! Every time I hear how important I am to God!” I said the word with sarcasm, “Well, Mary, you may believe there is a…” I struggled for a word, “…a being that knows me, created me and for some unknown reason loves me. But I know better! So, can we get to the end of this hour together without God or Jesus or his love or the cross. Just tell me I need to get control of my addictions and let me go!”
She smiled at this and without condensation or smugness said,
“There was a great king who thought these very thoughts, he wrote them down. Maybe you know them, but we can end our session today if you promise to think about the words and see if you can understand a bit of King David’s faith before we meet again,
what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8: 3-9)
With that she ended the session and let me go by rounding her desk and opening the door, shaking my hand she said,
“Meditate on these words!”
As the door closed, I mumbled,
“Right, you betya!”
Now as I sat drinking, I laughed, still unnerved!
Do you ever feel so small and insignificant that you cannot believe the God and Creator of the Universe knows you, cares about you and loves you completely? If you do, I get it, for years I struggled with the idea of God and the vastness of his creation. How could he care about my problems or my addictions? There were other times I struggled with just this planet. What is there, seven billion people living here? How can God love and care for every one of them? These questions plagued me for so long and fed my disbelieve! But it is strange and wonderful how God works.
Let me explain. Back in 2009 when I began listening to the Bible on my daily walks, I heard something that seemed familiar to me, it stopped me in my tracks. Where had I heard these words before:
“When I consider 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, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
Then it struck me. What was her name? That counsellor who so unnerved me back in the day. What was her name….? Mary! Yeah that is the name. She had told me back then to meditate on these words. Of course, I had not but now I backed up my MP3 player and listened again. We were made just a little lower than heavenly beings! We were given permission to rule HIS creation. It still was hard to believe but now I wanted to know more!
Over a year or so after that I returned to that Psalm often. Whenever the thoughts of my ‘smallness’ and whenever my insecurities overwhelmed me. To tell you the truth, I still look at these words or how they are reflected in the book of Hebrews and praise God, I now believe them. No longer unnerved but in peace with their promise and awe.
Today, my friend, think on it. Your value is so great to God. He created you to be a ruler, a priest. Not lost in doubt! Not lost in addiction! You are his valued steward!
Meditate on the words and believe, with awe say:
“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
Blessings
John
9/14/20