Lessons for Life with James Long, Jr.
Are you longing to find answers to the deeper issues of life? Join James, a pastor, counselor, and university professor with over 30 years of experience. Hear James as he tackles some of life's biggest questions and helps us find God's solutions to life's struggles. Learn the power of living by God's grace and for His glory. Experience the joy of forgiveness and freedom found in Jesus Christ alone. If you are on a search for freedom, you will love being part of this conversation. Subscribe, and enjoy the show!
Lessons for Life with James Long, Jr.
Crowned with Glory: Rediscovering Your Worth in the Majesty of God (Psalm 8)
Episode Title
Crowned with Glory: Rediscovering Your Worth in the Majesty of God (Psalm 8)
Episode Summary
Do you ever feel small, unseen, or unimportant?
Psalm 8 speaks directly into those moments of insecurity. In this episode of Counseling Through the Psalms, James Long, Jr. explores how David takes us from awe at God’s majesty to wonder at our worth. This psalm affirms that even though we are small in the grand scale of creation, we are not forgotten—we are crowned with glory and entrusted with purpose.
Whether you’re struggling with identity, battling shame, or trying to reclaim a sense of meaning in your life, Psalm 8 shows you where your true value is found: not in what you do, but in the One who made you.
Key Takeaways
- God’s majesty doesn’t diminish your worth; it defines it.
- Even in your weakness, God displays His strength through you.
- Your dignity is not earned by performance, but given by grace.
- The image of God in you reflects your design, your calling, and your purpose.
- Jesus fulfills Psalm 8, restoring the broken image of God in us and renewing our calling to reflect His glory.
Scripture Focus
- Psalm 8:1–9
- Genesis 1:26–28
- Hebrews 2:6–9
- 1 Corinthians 15:27
- Psalm 113:5–6
- Romans 8:19–21
Reflect and Respond
- When have you felt insignificant or overlooked? How does Psalm 8 speak to that?
- What does it mean to you that God is mindful of you?
- How does being crowned with glory and honor reshape your view of yourself?
- Where do you see the image of God in someone you struggle to love?
- How can you reflect God’s glory in your current season of life?
- What verse from Psalm 8 do you most need to meditate on this week?
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ABOUT JAMES AND LESSONS FOR LIFE
Are you longing to find answers to the deeper issues of life? Join Dr. James Long, Jr., a pastor, counselor, and university professor with over 30 years of experience. Hear James as he tackles some of life’s biggest questions and helps us find God’s solutions to life’s struggles. Learn the power of living by God’s grace and for His glory. Experience the joy of forgiveness and freedom found in Jesus Christ alone. If you are in search of freedom, you will love being part of this conversation. Subscribe, and enjoy the show!
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Hello everyone. It's James Long from Lessons for Life, and today would you grab your Bible and your journal? And we are going to be looking at Psalm 8 today. Now, psalm 8 confronts our feelings of insignificance and offers a breathtaking view of human worth rooted in God's design and majesty. The psalm invites those who feel small, unseen or devalued to find identity, purpose and dignity in the one who has made them and remembers them. So let's open our Bibles to Psalm 8 and grab your journal. We'll be using that throughout.
Speaker 1:Majesty that lifts the lowly. There are moments in life when we feel crushed beneath the weight of our own smallness. Perhaps it comes while standing under star-filled skies or in the midst of personal failure, or after hearing words that make us feel like we don't matter In a world that often treats people as expendable. Psalm 8 is a song of healthy dignity, so important, so valuable. David begins not with lament or complaint, but with awe. He says this in verse 1, o Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens. He lifts our eyes upward. God's name, his nature, his fame is stamped across the world, from the heights of the heavens to the mouth of infants, god's power and beauty are displayed. But Psalm 8 doesn't leave us gazing from a distance. It brings us nearer In a stunning reversal. This psalm not only magnifies God's greatness, it magnifies the worth he has given to us. The same God who made galaxies also made you and crowned you with glory. The dignity of the small and the weak. In verse 2, david declares out of the mouths of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes. This is one of the most counseling, rich truths in the Psalms. God silences the enemies not through the strong or powerful, but through the weak and voiceless. He doesn't need thrones to demonstrate his power. He uses crying babies. He doesn't always use the articulate to defend truth. He uses children to proclaim it. If you feel powerless, unheard or unqualified, you're not excluded from God's purposes. In fact, you may be his chosen instrument.
Speaker 1:Jesus quoted this very verse in Matthew, chapter 21, verse 16, when the children cried out in the temple praising him as Messiah. When the religious leaders protested, jesus affirmed them. The message was clear. The humble often see what the proud miss In a counseling setting.
Speaker 1:This verse confronts the lie that weakness disqualifies you from being used by God. It reframes our experience. Perhaps the very thing that you think makes you unusable is what God will use to display his glory when insignificance creeps in, he says. In verses three and four he says these two lines when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, and the moon and the stars, and then a little bit later on, it says what is man that you're mindful of him? Have you ever asked that question?
Speaker 1:David's honest wonder echoes the insecurities in many hearts. Do I really matter? This is the crucial point for anyone struggling with depression, low self-worth or feeling forgotten. Psalm 8 affirms that God is mindful of you. He has not overlooked you. His care is not general, it's personal. The Son of man. That you care for him is not an abstract theology, it's embodied grace. Even more astonishing, david says God doesn't merely think of you, he honored us. Wow.
Speaker 1:Verse 5, you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. This is not humanism or self-exaltation, it's worship, acknowledging that God has given us both dignity and responsibility. Restored purpose through Christ. Verses 6-8 reflect our calling. You have given him dominion. You have put all things under his feet. David is echoing Genesis 1, our creation in God's image and our call to steward creation. But in the fall that dominion has been fractured, we misuse it, we neglect it, we fall short. That is why the New Testament reopens Psalm 8 through the lens of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Hebrews chapter 2 tells us that Psalm 8 ultimately points to Christ, the one who was made for a little while lower than the angels, who suffered death and died, and who is now crowned with glory and honor. Hebrews 2, verses 6-9. Where we have failed in our calling, christ fulfilled it. Where we are stained by sin, christ remained spotless and now through him, the broken image of God in us is being restored. This is good news for everyone who feels that they've wasted their lives, marred their dignity or lost a sense of purpose. Jesus restores what sin has ruined. In him, your worth is reestablished. In him, your calling is renewed.
Speaker 1:Awe that anchors identity. The psalm ends where it began. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. Verse 9. It's a doxology, a final reminder that everything about us must be anchored in everything about him. We are not the center of the universe, but we are cherished in it. We are not divine, but we are dignified. We are not forgotten, but we are crowned Now for the anxious. Psalm 8 says you are seen For the ashamed. It says you are remembered For the insecure. You are crowned by your creator and for the aimless. You were made to reflect his glory.
Speaker 1:What are some of the doctrinal insights that we find from Psalm 8? Well, we first see Imago Dei. Every human being bears the image of God we see that in Genesis 1, verses 26-27, and therefore possess inherent worth, dignity and responsibility. We also see divine condescension responsibility. We also see divine condescension God stoops to care for humanity, not because of our greatness, but because of his grace. Psalm, chapter 113, verses five through six. We see Christ's humiliation and exaltation. Jesus fulfills Psalm eight as the true son of man who restored what Adam lost. We saw that in Hebrews 2, verses 6-9, and you can also find that in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 27. And then we see the creation mandate. Humanity is entrusted with stewardship over creation, a role that finds its fullest expression in Christ and is restored through the gospel Genesis, chapter 1, verse 8, and Romans, chapter 8, verse 19 through 21. Now let's take all that doctrine and let's make it practical, practical theology.
Speaker 1:Psalm 8 is deeply relevant for those who are overlooked, insecure and unsure of their purpose. This psalm teaches us that our worth is not something that we have to earn or prove. It is something that God gave us when he made us in his image. When you feel insignificant, remember that God is mindful of you Verse 4,. You are not forgotten in the vastness of creation. He sees you and cares deeply about your life. When shame tells you that you are worthless, remember that God crowned you with glory and honor Verse 5. This is not based on your performance, but it is on his purpose and his love for you.
Speaker 1:When you feel purposeless and adrift, psalm 8 reminds you that you were made to reflect God's glory and to participate in His work. Your life has meaning. Every act of kindness, faithfulness and stewardship reflect the one who made you. When your heart aches with comparison or self-doubt, let this psalm recenter you. You were not made to compete for approval. You were made to worship the God who calls you his own. And when you long to live a life that matters, remember that living for the glory of God, whether in parenting, friendship, work or worship, is what brings true fulfillment. You don't have to be famous or flawless to matter in God's kingdom, in your home, your church, your school, your workplace. God wants to display his glory through you. Your voice, your prayers, your presence matters more than you know.
Speaker 1:Okay, now let's reflect and respond to this passage. Six points I want you to consider. Number one when have you felt insignificant or overlooked? How does Psalm 8 speak to those feelings? Number two what does it mean to you personally that God is mindful of you? Number three how does knowing you were crowned with glory and honor reshape your view of yourself? Number four where do you see the image of God in someone you struggle to love? Number five how can you embrace your God-given calling to steward creation and reflect his glory?
Speaker 1:Number six what part of Psalm 8 do you most need to linger on this week, and why? Well, let's pray, majestic and merciful God, when I feel small or forgotten. Lift my eyes to see your glory and creation and your grace and calling Thank you for being mindful of me and for crowning me with dignity that I did not earn and restoring what sin has broken in me by your son, the Lord. Jesus Christ, help me walk in confidence of being known, loved and purposed by you. Teach me to reflect your glory, not with pride but with praise, and let my worship begin in wonder and end in surrender In the name of your risen son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of man, the Lord of all, amen and amen. Well, if you're struggling with self-worth or identity, psalm 8 reminds you that you are more than your past or your pain. You are remembered, valued and crowned with glory by God. Crowned with glory by God.
Speaker 1:If you want to learn more about us, join our free navigators level at Lessons for Life Community at communityjameslongjrorg for devotionals, meetups and training that will help you walk by faith, or explore one of our full memberships at jameslongjrorg slash. Sign up now for deeper coaching and content designed to help you grow emotionally, relationally and spiritually wise. You are not forgotten. You are crowned with glory. Until next time, be blessed everyone. Take care.
