Excellence

July 24, 2005 - 11:07 pm 7 Comments

I’ve been having a wonderful time this week with my parents up to see us, we went for a long walk and had ice cream. Monica stayed for a few days and we had a great time watching “Shark Week” on the Discovery Channel, getting haircuts and enjoying food and conversation together. Now Billy is up for a few days, as he just moved out here for his new job in Southern California. This weekend we had very hot weather, a big wedding to attend and lots of excitement as we shared with others that we are having a baby. It seems that our lives are always full. Not necessarily good things all the time or bad things all the time, but full of the Lord working. I’m so glad that we have some precious close friends and family to share life with as we encourage and sharpen each other to walk in the light of God as we love Him and serve others each day.

Today I spent some time reading Psalm 8 and I was profoundly moved by the descriptive and specific way that the writer glorifies God:

“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!”
Psalm8:1,3-4,9
God is amazing. He was never created, but He created all that exists. I think of the Grand Canyon, the ocean, mountains and even the red tide–how amazing creation is. And yet, it is only a slight reflection of the awesome God whose fingers formed it into being. We are usually so focused on ourselves and getting glory for our own name that we fail to recognize God as He is and in doing so do not see ourselves in proper light. It is difficult to see the One who is so far and so exalted above us when all we do is look at ourselves. This Psalm is a deep expression of the humble response we should have as we see glimpses of God’s glory in creation and our lives.
Man is nothing. He deserves no acclaim and no praise. Yet his whole life he is out to find happiness, self-worth and success. God is the only one who is worthy and deserving of being exalted. For no matter how bright we are or accomplished we become we are no match for the grandeur of God’s majesty. Life is so fulfilling when I look up and see myself in light of the Lord, so small and insignificant and yet He loved me so much that He sent His Son to make atonement for all of our sins. And He doesn’t even stop there, but continues to guide me and give me such good gifts that are all beyond what I could have imagined. He is excellent indeed!

7 Responses to “Excellence”

  1. roberta Says:

    How easily and naturally we inflate our view of ourselves and fail to see how excellent God is. I like the reminder in Romans 12:3 not to think more highly of ourselves that we ought to think, but to think with sober or sound judgment. When we think so well of ourselves we are acting drunkenly or insantely. Instead we need to focus our thoughts on the excellence of our God. That is reality Thanks for the reminder!

  2. Kim Says:

    Okay, you’ll have to say that again, Christa. Did you say you’re going to have a baby? Did I read that right? If so, I can’t tell you how thrilled for you I am!!!

  3. Spanish Morning Says:

    CHRISTA!!! When are YOU due??? I’M due on March 10, 2006! I haven’t been able to post on my blog about it because not all family knows until next week. This is TOO cool! We get to share such an awesome part of life together! Whoda thunk it! When did you find out! E-mail me or SOMETHING! And I’ll fill you in after you e-mail me.

  4. blakeyblog Says:

    Mom-I like how you termed how our thoughts should be as “sober”. You are right, when we think so highly and so much of ourselves we do act kind of crazy don’t we?

    Kim-Yes, you read that correctly! We are very excited too…

    Dawn-I’m just about three months right now, so due in early February. Congratulations to you too!

  5. Drew Says:

    Congrats Christa! I’m so happy for you! Take our Baby Clothes, we need room in our garage! lol.

  6. Pilot Mom Says:

    CONGRATULATIONS, Christa!!! You and your husband must be estatic! This must be the time to share good news because my niece called on Friday to tell us they are expecting #5! And, then tonight, I took my Mom out to dinner and our waitress was expecting her first! What a blessing! I am so happy for you both!

  7. martha sager Says:

    Congratulations Bobby and Christa!!! We’re sooo excited for both of you. What’s your due date?
    How are you feeling? We’ll be praying for a healthy pregnancy and delivery.

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