Small, but Significant v.2

It’s 1980, May 18.  Ring a bell with anyone? 
I looked out the window.  “Hey, what’s that GRAY STUFF on my car??  Oh, look, it’s all over the place!”  Puzzled, I turn on the news.  
“Mount St. Helens erupts!  Catastrophic explosions destroy landscape for miles around!”  

Mt. St. Helens is a mountain is in SW Washington State, 400 kms south of here.  Anyone old enough to remember this?  What do you remember? 
That day, volcanic debris shot violently into the clear blue sky, 24 kms high! 

Prevailing winds blew this thick grey cloud east and north.  It was soooo thick that towns in eastern Washington lost daylight!  It was this ash that created the gray blanket that I found on my car.                    

For years, I wanted to see the historic destruction with my own eyes. 
Finally, . . . 28 years later, I arrived at the mountain. 

Of course, much of the affected area had come back to life with healthy forests, alpine flowers and wildlife, but much was still in its moonscape condition . . .  devoid of life. 

At the presentation center, a mountain ranger gave a riveting account of the explosive eruption and devastating damage.  

He concluded: “Now that you can see the power of the eruption, I hope you will see that you are very small and insignificant.”    

Yes, I did feel very small and insignificant compared to nature’s power!  Yet, EACH ONE OF US is significant in the eyes of Almighty for 3 reasons:  he knows us intimately, blesses us richly, and welcomes our presence.  

Firstly, we know we are significant in God’s eyes because he knows us intimately. I learned this a long time ago at summer camp when I was 13.  A letter arrived from my mother with news about a family friend . . . “I’m sorry to tell you that Geoffrey has drowned in a canoeing accident.”  
What?  This can’t be!  He was just a year older than me, and an excellent athlete!  I burst out crying and collapsed on my camping cot.  It was at this point that my camp counselor comforted me by opening her bible to Psalm 139.  Through her calm voice, I learned that God knows me intimately:

He made all the delicate, inner parts of my body from the time of conception.  His workmanship is so marvelously and wonderfully complex!  Every moment of my life was recorded in his book before it happened.  God has examined my heart and knows everything about me.   

Yes, we know we are significant in God’s eyes because he knows us intimately.   

Secondly, we know we are significant in God’s eyes because he blesses us richly!  I learned this during a mid-life crisis while questioning the value of my very existence.  Society praises people who achieve amazing things, earn degrees, & have fancy titles.  Me?  None of that!  Of course, I knew I had value to my family as a stay-at-home mom, but when compared to the “successes” of my friends, I felt like an under-achiever. 

But then, in Ephesians 1, I read how Paul describes how God blesses me richly. 
As a Christian we are blessed, adopted into God’s family, and receive gifts from Him including the Holy Spirit. 
Our sins are forgiven. 
We were chosen to be His even before He created the world! 
He made us part of His overall plan. 
With Christ in us, we are holy and have assurance of eternal life with Him in heaven. 

Right!  It doesn’t matter what society thinks of my status, or yours, because, as God’s children,
we know we are significant in his eyes because he blesses us richly!  

Thirdly, we know we are significant in God’s eyes because he welcomes our presence!  Imagine that!  The Creator of the universe wants to spend time with each one of us!  I learn and re-learn this every day.  When times of stress, confusion, or helplessness creep up on me, I remember: “stop looking at the problem and Focus on God.”   

Psalm 37 assures me that he welcomes my presence: 
Take delight in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire. 
Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him and he will help you. 
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.  

Certainly, we know we are significant in God’s eyes because he welcomes our presence!  

To conclude: the mountain ranger was right when he said that people are small - when compared to the power of an erupting volcano.  However, he was wrong about us being insignificant.  Almighty God created each one of us with power, purpose and a plan!  He knows us intimately, blesses us richly, and welcomes our presence because, in God’s eyes,  we are significant!