God's Purpose: Why He Cares for Man | Psalm 8:4 Devotional

“…what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” —PSALM 8:4

It is the centrality of the human being that astounded David when he presumably looked into the cosmos one night, and wrote in Psalm 8:3-4, “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?”

“You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet” (Psalm 8:5-6). David then includes the flocks and herds, beasts of the field, birds of the air and the fish of the seas. God gave mankind dominion over the earth, and David looks up into the vastness of the universe and asks God, why is your focus not just on earth? Why is your focus on people?

This is a crucial question, because the revelation God gives us in His Word of creation is so that we might get up in the morning and know we exist for a purpose. This addresses the ultimate questions of life: Who am I? Where do we come from? Why are we here? What is the future? What has gone wrong with the world and how is it going to be put right? 

These are fundamental questions that are all addressed in the first three chapters of Genesis – the creation, the fall, and how God is going to put it right. The message of Scripture is that this vast universe, rather than being an empty nothingness, was created for God’s pleasure and our pleasure. God created human beings as the pinnacle of His creation, because He made us in His image, by His will and for His purpose. We’re fearfully and wonderfully made for what purpose? For the pleasure of God. That’s what Revelation tells us - that we might enjoy relationship with God. And it is this which gives value to us. It is this which gives dignity, meaning and purpose to every human life.

The ‘how and when’ of creation, as intriguing and fascinating as that is, are actually trivial questions. They will do nothing to change us, but the who and why are vital questions, because they convey the love of God for us and for this world, and they give us the much needed assurance that a loving, supreme and sovereign God is in control.

Dear Heavenly Father, I am so grateful that You are in control. I place my faith in You and trust You to bring about Your purpose in this world and in my life.

In what ways have I derived the most pleasure from my relationship with God?