Mindful of Us by Caitlin Masike
Oh hey, short on time? No worries! I'd love to join you on your commute or daily walk/run, or shoot, even while you take care of that to-do list. We can't let these things get in the way of this friendship. It's just starting to get good! Click below to listen to the blogcast.
In the rush of our days, we become mindful of a lot of things.
What will I wear?
What will I eat?
What will I do?
Who will I do it with?
When should this be done?
These are just a few. Yet, imagine for a second having your influence expanded - so much so that you are over everything? What would you choose to be mindful of?
This week, my friend, Caitlin Masike, is sharing her reflection of Psalm 8 with us, and get this! God - the Creator of the heavens and the earth - the holy One who is sovereign over all creation - chooses to be mindful - and care - for us.
How beautiful, how humbling, how unthinkable!
How do we respond to such truth? How does this change the way we live?
Though we first became friends through our community group at church, Caitlin spends her days taking care of children and enjoys writing and playing music in her free time. She lives in Oklahoma but is originally from Texas, where she lived for 14 years.
Our beautiful God never ceases to amaze me, but one thing that has always left me in complete and utter awe is the level of importance He has placed in us. We are His number one priority. Our salvation was worth every drop of blood in His Son’s body. His desire to be close to us — no matter how flawed and evil and hateful we can be — has been His main goal from the very beginning.
Isn’t that crazy?!
Think about it! Long before Adam took his first breath, He took this dark, empty globe of chaos and made something of it. And after filling it with beautiful creations that could never choose anything other than perfection, in His eyes the world was not complete without us.
He didn’t create us as one with the animals that lived off perfect instinct. He set us over them — to reign on this planet over all living things alongside Him with the freedom and choice to love Him for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. And what did we do to deserve that?
Absolutely nothing!
That’s how awesome God’s love is for us!
Psalm 8 says:
When I consider your heavens, The work of your fingers, The moon and the stars, Which you have set in place, What is mankind that you are mindful of them, Human beings that you care for them? - Psalm 8:3-4
Have you ever put yourself in the same position of humility and self-awareness as this psalmist? Have you ever gotten on your knees and recognized that we are such small, corrupt creatures compared to the massive, marvelous universe God created with just a word?
When I ponder on what little knowledge I have on stars and galaxies, I get paralyzed with fear and awe. I could stare at images of galaxies and stars and black holes for hours and never cease to be amazed. And if I stare long enough, I remember how microscopic our planet is in those pictures.
All too often, we take the high priority with which the Creator of the universe has made us for granted. The psalmist highlights how much more important we are than all of the incredible things God has made, yet still remains humble in acknowledging those things are indeed great.
I want you to read Psalm 8 again. Note all of the things we as a species are compared to — the moon, the stars, the angels.
Now meditate on that question in verse 4: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them…that you care for them?”
You are important.
You are so, so precious to your Heavenly Father.
You are fully known and perfectly prioritized.
The same God who created the mountains and oceans and flowers that even the most talented artists could never replicate — the same God who sits outside of the confines of time and has distinct plans for every single member of every generation — did not see His masterpiece as complete without you in it.
Marinate in this and believe it. Walk in the knowledge of this truth.
While you do that, though, remember how tiny you are in that google image of the Milky Way. Though all of the importance God sees in you is there and is true, do not forget to Whom all the glory belongs.
Now, It's Your Turn!
Before opening God's Word, take a moment to pray and ask God to meet you there. Then...
Read Psalm 8 a couple times. Highlight what stands out to you.
Circle verbs or specific wording you notice.
Then, write down a bullet point takeaway based on this. "I-statements" help make this personal. Think of this as a challenge statement.
I am so, so precious to my Heavenly Father. He is mindful of me and cares deeply for me. I will live in rooted in His love for me.
Then, jot down a question or two to think about today. You don't have to have the answer to this question now. And yield to the Holy Spirit - prayerfully ask God to search your heart and lead you to more truth and grow your faith through the Holy Spirit.
How can the life Jesus lived and modeled for me help me maintain a healthy balance - living as an heir to the Kingdom while in the posture of a servant?
Again, we don't have to be Bible scholars and talk only in the thou's and art's of King James version to read this book ...because when we pray before we read, we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is with us, guiding and teaching us.
Praise God for this!
And praise God for refreshment as we are intentional to spend a summer in the Psalms together, for if we want His truth to ever be on our lips, it must first be planted in our hearts.
Our strength grows as we rely on strength from above. Our joy grows as we see God transforming us from the inside out. Our peace grows as we spend time in God's presence, and we find rest when we intentionally seek the Lord first in our lives, for the Lord is ever our portion.
The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.
I love hearing from you, so go ahead. Leave a comment. Be brave. Maybe your comment will speak life into someone else!
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