Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud. Psalm 138:6 nlt
One day at church, I greeted a visiting family. I knelt next to their little girl’s wheelchair, introduced her to my service dog, Callie, and complimented her pretty, pink glasses and boots. Though she was nonverbal, her smile told me she enjoyed our conversation. Another little girl approached, avoiding eye contact with my new friend. She whispered, “Tell her I like her dress.” I said, “You tell her. She’s kind, just like you.” I explained how easy it was to speak with our new friend even though she communicated differently, and how looking at her and smiling would help her feel accepted and loved.
In Scripture and in this world, people are often excluded because they’re perceived as different. However, our great God celebrates our differences and invites us into relationship with Him and His family. In Psalm 138, David says, “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; before the ‘gods’ I will sing your praise” (v. 1). He says, “the Lord is exalted” and yet, He “looks kindly on the lowly” (v. 6).
God, exalted and holy, looks kindly on us, His created ones, especially when we humble ourselves. As we ask Him to help us look kindly on and behave kindly toward others, we can thank Him for affirming that we’re lowly and loved!
How does remembering you’re lowly in comparison to God change the way you see others? How can you show love to those in your community with disabilities?
Dear God, please help me greet all people with the same abundant kindness and unconditional love that You show me each day.
INSIGHT
David was no stranger to fighting foreign powers and their so-called gods. As a young man, he had faced off against Goliath, who represented the Philistine god Dagon (1 Samuel 5:1-8; 17:32-50). He’d seen Yahweh triumph over kings (see 1 Samuel 27). And he knew God’s promise to him that he’d take the throne of Israel (16:6-13).
In Psalm 138, David expressed everything he’d learned in his relationship with God. God recognizes the humble, not the powerful—no matter how lofty that power may be (v. 6). After all, Yahweh is stronger than all things in both heaven and on earth. David could confidently praise and thank God because he knew he was secure. It was out of that security that he could turn and fearlessly praise Yahweh in the face of any threat.