As a piano major at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, my science course requirements were somewhat limited. For some reason, they expected me to take far more music classes than science. Nevertheless, one of the most impactful courses I took in college was not in music but astronomy.

You see, I’ve been fascinated with astronomy for most of my life. Yes, I was also fascinated with the ebola virus, but that’s different. I would venture to think that most kids at some point get a little preoccupied with space. Who doesn’t enjoy looking up into the night sky, seeing the stars, the hazy glow of the the Milky Way, watching a shooting star, or seeing a satellite pass overhead?

The most thrilling experience I had in my astronomy class came one night in late February when I made my way up to the roof of the Natural Sciences building. It was late, about 10pm, but I was right on time. On the roof, I was met by several other students and the professor, who walked us over to a large telescope perched on a tripod by the railing.

As each student peered into the eye piece, we were met with a magical sight…one that I would never forget. It was Saturn. Clear as day, I saw the sphere of the massive planet, its rings set around it. From the relatively low power of the telescope we were using, the planet appeared no larger than a glowing ball. But there was something amazing about seeing this planet with my own eyes…not illustrated in a magazine, or reproduced from photographs. It was me…I saw this planet. I was dumbstruck.

I imagine it was a moment like that which prompted David to pen these famous words from Psalm 8:

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.” (Psalm 8:1)

As a shepherd, David spent a lot of time in the open fields at night. Laying down with his flock, he must have stared up into the night sky often, contemplating the incredible expanse of the stars above him. To David, the heavens were exhibit A to God’s glory and power. That’s why he writes, “You have set your glory above the heavens.” Similarly, in Psalm 19:1 he writes,

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)

What better display is there of the wholesale sovereign power and glory of God than the expanse of stars and planets which shine above us in the clear night sky? With no telescope to aid his vision, David rightly senses his smallness…his seeming insignificance:

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4)

The Hubble Space Telescope marked its 30th birthday on April 24. Over its three-decades of service, this remarkable device has uncovered secrets of the universe we would have never known existed otherwise. While the telescope is a remarkable achievement for the ingenuity of man, what it’s done is reinforced just how small we are compared to the expanse of the universe. If David came to the conclusion that man was small and insignificant by staring up at the sky with his naked eye, how much more should we be humbled by our own stature based on 21st century space exploration?

Yet here’s the thing. While space is one massive declaration of God’s glory and greatness and power, there is another exhibition of God’s power which is on display before us. This display is not obvious. It doesn’t appear grand or glorious. But David recognized it nonetheless.

Even before he launched into his wonderment at the heavenly theater above him, he hinted at this power at work:

“Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.” (Psalm 8:2)

There’s no other verse in the Old Testament like this one. On the one hand, you have God’s “foes,” the “enemy,” and the “avenger.” They are synonymous with human power standing in opposition against God and his authority. Juxtaposed to them is the most unlikely of images: babies and infants…two terms which describe humanity at its youngest and most vulnerable. They are the symbol of weakness and helplessness.

Yet David makes a remarkable statement. The inarticulate babble of infants and babies still too young for solid food is used as a demonstration of God’s might. It’s through their chatter that God silences his foes, the enemy, and the avenger. This is the principle at work in Psalm 8. For as powerful as God is…able to create the cosmos with a word…he chooses to use the weak and insignificant in order to accomplish his purposes.

That’s what has captivated David. As he stares up into the sky, witnessing the obvious testimony to God’s power, he is struck by the not-so-obvious: you put man in charge of all of this! Puny, small, frail, insignificant man?

“Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.” (Psalm 8:5-8)

Reflecting upon Genesis 1:26-28, David is struck by the the fact that God, the creator of all things, has placed the responsibility to rule and reign over the created order onto the shoulders of mankind. He vested us with royalty (“crowned him with glory”) and divine authority (“given him dominion”). Even though man appears to be the most insignificant particle in the cosmos, he has been given full dominion over it.

What does the world associate with power? Money, influence, celebrity, fame, political position. These are the avenues of worldly power. They are overt and obvious. But God doesn’t work like that. Instead, he shows just how powerful he is by working through things that seem to be the weakest, most insignificant things in our world. But what’s more, God takes delight in doing this, because he gets all the glory for it! There’s no alternative explanation, no sense in squabbling over who’s really to thank. There’s only one person: God.

The gospel is the pinnacle display of this startling contrast. The unbelieving world looks at the cross and sees weakness. But the one who comes to saving faith does so because their eyes are opened to the true power…the divine power…on display in the message of the cross:

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

When you think about it, there’s no clearer or more surprising exhibition of God’s power than how he can work his sovereign will through the most unlikely of avenues. Let’s stop thinking like the world. Let’s begin to see our weakness and insignificance as our greatest source of strength. You don’t need money or power or fame to make an impact in the world. All you need is humility and the gospel.

It’s through nobodies like us that God flexes his muscles. It’s when we’re weak that God demonstrates just how strong he is.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)