Read Psalm 8:1-9

All of us need to be needed. We want to be wanted. God created us with a desire to know we can contribute something valuable and to have a significant impact in the lives of others. In years past, great men and women longed to leave their marks on the world, to create a legacy that would continue after they had passed away.

In our youth, we tend to derive a lot of self-worth from our ability to contribute to others or to assist others in their need. Being in the swirl of activity, resourceful and responsive, our youthful exuberance blinds us to the fact that it will someday end. Then, ever so slowly through a chain of events or sometimes abruptly without warning, we find ourselves sidelined and no longer in demand. One circumstance or another can seize our usefulness and leave us reeling in its devastating wake. Injustice can take our freedom. Slander can take away our reputation. Illness can take away our strength. Bad fortune can take away our wealth. Depression can take away our hope. And let's not forget the steady incursion of age on our vitality. Merely growing older can move us out of the fast lane. By being passed over for a promotion or being benched because a stronger player joins the team, we feel overlooked. It hurts.

No one wants to feel set aside.

The eighth song in God's ancient hymnal is a great one for those times in our lives when we feel bypassed, set aside, overlooked. It highlights the value God places upon His creatures, and none more than humanity.

Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, Living the Psalms: Encouragement for the Daily Grind (Brentwood, Tenn.: Worthy Publishing, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., 2012). Copyright © 2012 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved. Used by permission.