“Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan, which You formed to play in it. These all look to You, to give them their food in due season. When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are filled with good things.” Psalm 104:23-28
Devotional Thought For The Day
The psalmist continues his musings on the wonders of God’s creation, the vastness and complexity of the earth and the oceans, their dependency upon God, and His close attention to the needs of all of His creatures. Note that they are His creatures; He made them, they belong to Him, He cares about them, He feeds them with good things. And of course mankind is the highest and most precious of God’s creation, and if He cares about mere creatures as He does, how much more will He also care about each of us. It is such a shameful and sorrowful reality that some people go hungry and are so sorely abused in their short lifetime in this world – some through their own laziness and foolishness, and some because of the wicked oppression of the greedy and arrogant. Lord, have mercy!
There is a contrast observed between man and the animals. The animals may go out to find food and hunt down prey but they do not have to “work” and “labor.” Man goes out to do his work, generally during the daylight hours, but we should be grateful to those who work through the night to provide us with benefits. Yet all are fed by God ultimately, the great Provider. We do not have to worry about the well-being of all of the creatures, God will tend to them. We are free to concern ourselves with our own labor – which is principally a matter of serving and helping other people, no matter what our vocation may be. This should be the main focus of our lives, whether on the job or at home, for of all of God’s creatures, only mankind has the capacity for and dignity of love. Work is the expression of our love for God and fellowman, or at least it should be. Again, it is such a shameful and sorrowful waste when people work for money and other people are merely a resource for wealth acquisition, or not worth thinking and caring about, or perhaps even nothing more than an irritation and impediment. Lord, have mercy!
All of this is a reflection of the wisdom of God – and how it is that the devil has been able to convince so many people that there is nothing Divine in creation, that the creation bears no witness whatsoever to the goodness and kindness of God, is truly remarkable. And what a dismal, flat, and meaningless existence it is when one is unaware of the purpose and outcome of real and genuine human life – which is love, God’s love for us and the love which He alone can create, inspire, and produce within us. It matters not what other philosophies and values people may adopt and live by, apart from faith and hope in the eternal things of God human life [the whole continuum] can only be seen as rather dismal, futile, and even tragic. Obviously, this is not what God intended for us, and He has given us all things, and especially His blessed Word, so that we can become more aware of Him, better understand His love, and grasp the eternal length and depth of existence that He wills for all people to experience and live.
That we often fail at this, and spend a good deal of our lives in a superficial flat spin, is something to be repented of. In the gift of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, God has provided us with forgiveness of all of our sins. It is in the experience of His love, His mercy and forgiveness, that we are renewed in love. Obviously this is a process, but by and by we do grow in real and genuine love for God and others, as we continue to dwell on His great love for us. It may seem that this comes too late in life, and that we have squandered much of our lives in sin and futility; but those who know and believe God’s love in Christ are just beginning; we will have an eternity to enjoy the things that we have haltingly learned are of the greatest value and satisfaction. So there is no futility for those who know God and live in His love. And there is increasing joy and greater satisfaction in all that God gives to us – the food tastes better and even the work is more fulfilling and enjoyable. All of this comes because God opens His loving hand to us.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, help us to grow more and more appreciative and awed by the things of Your creation, and more fully aware of Your great love for us. Help us to understand, embrace, and rejoice in the noble and blessed purposes You have given to us in this life. May we joyfully reflect Your love in all that we say and do, as we continue to look forward to even greater blessings in Your heavenly kingdom. Bless our work, and continue to open Your hand of blessing upon us and all of creation. Amen.