Day 15: He Shows Up
Read: Psalm 8:1–4
what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
— Psalm 8:4 (ESV)
Reflect
David looks up at the night sky, the moon and stars God set in place, and asks the question we have all asked: why would a God that great pay any attention to people like us?
The word translated "care for" is paqad. It is a rich word, and older translations often rendered it "visit." But it is not a polite social call. In Scripture, God's visiting always does something. It can mean taking a count, making an appointment, coming to rescue, or coming to judge.
Watch what happens when God visits. "The LORD visited Sarah as he had said," and an old, barren woman conceived a son (Genesis 21:1). God told Moses to tell the enslaved Israelites, in effect, "I have surely visited you," and the exodus followed (Exodus 3:16). When God visited his people in famine, he gave them bread (Ruth 1:6).
So David's question is bigger than it first appears. It is not only, "Why would God notice us?" It is, "Why would God come to us and act?" The answer of the whole Bible is that he does, and his visits change things.
God does not merely notice you. He visits.
Across Scripture
When John the Baptist was born, his father Zechariah praised God "for he has visited and redeemed his people" (Luke 1:68). Hebrews 2:6–9 quotes this very psalm and says we see its fulfillment in Jesus. In him, the visiting God came in person.
Sit With It
Where do you need God to show up, and not just to know about it? Name that place plainly, and ask him for the visit.
Pray
Visit me where I am.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.