Psalm 8

1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—
7 the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.
9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

I've heard David diagnosed as being "bi-polar". He had manic days...like today...and depressed days. Huge mood swings. I disagree with the "bi-polar" thing for a couple of important reasons.

First, it has been long accepted that broad mood swings are...in great part...a function of intelligence, not mental health. Smarter people are able to more keenly recognized consequences of situations. This results in a sense of foreboding at bad consequences and jubilation at good consequences. This fact alone should make some of us feel a lot better about ourselves.

Also...David clearly recognized God's role in the circumstances of life. This realization, as well, causes us to react strongly. After all...once we make peace with the fact that we are not in control of our own destiny...we have no choice but to admit we are subservient to the one who is in control. Even when that one is God, the truth runs contrary to our natural desire to control our own lives.

So, it is natural for people of faith to experience these emotional highs and lows. And why wouldn't we be euphoric at the thought that God has chosen to dwell with man? David couldn't even comprehend the blessings. He said "what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" It is just as natural to feel God's immutable laws are a threat because defiance results in dire consequences. My sense of today's psalm is this. We should feel permitted to react to God's presence in our lives with authenticity. That means life can be a roller coaster.

I used to hear old time Christians respond to the exuberance of new Christians by saying "give them time...they'll settle down!" It is truly a tragedy when we encourage Christians to moderate either the joy or the sorrow that the Holy Spirit prompts in their lives. The death of a loved one ought to prompt grief...just as Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus. Likewise, the ecstasy the comes when we recognize God's miraculous presence within us is just as natural.

So...let God's Spirit naturally move you today, and don't worry about those around you.

Live boldly out there today...