Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Psalm 103:14

I shared this scripture Sunday morning because it was on my mind. I was realizing my own weakness and inability to properly handle God's Word. My brain was scattered and unfocused. My body has been weak for some time. It has not been depression, but rather I was faced with my own limitations. As Christians, we could let our weaknesses beat us down mentally and emotionally, but the Psalmist reminds us that God already knows who and what we are.

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For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

Psalm 103:14

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I think we sometimes get the impression that we become weak and frail when something tragic happens, or we simply get old.  Our point of reference is ourselves at our best, or someone else that we look up to.  However, if we take a step back and view what man is from a grand perspective, we are not much at all.  Then, when we read verses like this, it could be easy to let this drag us into depression.  But then, we wouldn’t actually be reading what the Psalmist was saying.

If we go back to the beginning of this Psalm, David tells us in the first 5 verses:

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 

Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

David did not begin this song depressed, but rather praising God.  He is saying that God realizes our weaknesses, but he pours out His grace and mercy on us to overcome that weakness.  David says that God forgives sin, heals sickness, redeems us from destruction, crowns us with loving kindness and mercy, satisfies our needs, and renews our strength.  David was in essence saying, “It's not about me, but about what God is doing in me”. 

Our problem is often that we become so “me focused” that we do not see what God is doing.  We either think way too highly of ourselves, and need to be reminded that we are but dust, or we think way too much about our weaknesses, and we do not look to God.  This is why David began by talking about God.  He started with worship.  By worshiping God, it shifted His focus from himself to God.

As long as we live, we will have problems.  There will be times when we do not notice them as much but they still exist.  Our ability to find joy and peace no matter what we face comes from our willingness to change our focus.  If we look to ourselves, we will realize our weakness.  If we look at our problems, they will seem enormous.  If we look to God, we realize how good He is to us.

Father, it is so easy to focus on everything else in life.  Sometimes I feel confident that I can handle my problems, and other times I realize I can’t.  Help me to look to You first and never to forget that I am just dust, but I am dust that you shaped in the image of Your Son.