A WORD FOR TODAY, May 29, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you are blessed by this daily devotion.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, May 29, 2026
“Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens! From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength, because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him? For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet: All sheep and cattle, yes, and the animals of the field, the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the seas. Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8, WEB
On Sunday we celebrate the Holy Trinity. The doctrine seems very confusing, but that is the reality of the Godhead. Three in one, one in three is beyond our ability to comprehend. We can come up with dozens of different analogies to help us explain the doctrine, but those analogies always come up short. Something limits the validity of those human explanations of a divine reality. Take, for example, the analogy of water. Yes, water can be liquid, gas, or solid when it is warm, hot, or frozen, but it cannot be liquid, gas, and solid at the same time. It is alright that we can’t reduce the Trinity to simple human terms. If we could, God wouldn’t be God.
We can’t possibly understand God completely, for He is greater than anything we can even imagine. However, He is good. He is trustworthy. He is faithful. We can believe in Him, not out of reason but out of faith. There is a place for reason, a place to study the words and try to understand what they mean. Instead of debating, this is one day during the year that it is important focus on worshipping the God who is so great that there are mysteries we will never fully grasp with our human minds. This is the kind of God that is worthy of our praise, and who is able to accomplish the very works that He promised.
The Trinity is one of God’s greatest mysteries, one of the most mystifying aspects of the Christian faith. How do you explain the unexplainable? Some theologians in the sixth century set out to explain the Trinity in language which the common man could understand, and it took approximately seven hundred words. The Athanasian Creed, which is often used in churches on Trinity Sunday, seems to go around and around in circles dividing the persons of the Trinity while holding them together. It is a long creed to recite and generally brings a sigh of annoyance from the congregation whenever it is said. And yet, is a powerful reminder of the incredible nature of the God we worship. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He Is.
Three is a good number. Most of our chairs have four legs, but have you ever thought about how much better it would be if they only had three? A chair with four legs must set perfectly flat on the floor or it wobbles. If one of the legs is slightly longer or slightly shorter than the other three, the chair wobbles. If the floor is uneven and one of the legs just sits in a hole or on a bump, the chair wobbles. However, if the chair has only three legs, even if there is some imperfection in the legs or the floor, the chair stands firm.
There is usually no leader in a committee of three. The three are equal, all having a voice and a vote. If two are against one another, the third can act as a peacemaker. If two are overly passionate about something, the third can act as a stabilizer. In a triangle, each side has a relationship with the other two sides; this is not always true with groups with more than three people. While many organizations need more than three to accomplish the work, most organizations require three people in leadership: a president, a secretary, and a treasurer. We have three branches of government in the United States. These three keep one another in balance. No one person has to be responsible for everything. No one person can be blamed if something goes wrong. No one person gets the credit when something goes right. Maybe that is why Jesus kept the three disciples (Peter, James, and John) close to Him, so that they might balance and support each other. I suppose that’s why the founding fathers of our nation chose to create a government with three branches two hundred and fifty years ago. Each balances the other and keeps each other accountable.
We set aside one day a year to focus on this concept. Although the word trinity is not specifically written or defined in the scriptures, Christians from every age have experienced God in three persons since the beginning of the Church. Scripture often uses trinitarian language to talk about God. Paul often used trinitarian language in is letters, such as in 2 Corinthians 13:14 where he wrote, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Matthew wrote in his Gospel at 28:19 that Jesus commanded the disciples to go into the nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Christians have always seen a shadow of the Trinity in the Word and the Spirit at the creation of the world in Genesis 1:26 where God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness.”
Today’s passage from Psalm 8 almost questions God’s decision to give mankind rule over the whole earth. “When I consider all you have done, why would you even choose man? Why would you make him a little lower than yourself and crown him with glory and honor?” When we look at the majesty of God’s creation, it is easy for us to doubt our ability to rule over it all. Modern science has given us a greater understanding of many parts of God’s creation. We have men living in space, cameras visiting planets millions of miles away. We can see stars that are farther than we can imagine. We can study particles that are so small they are invisible to the naked eye. Our world has expanded both outwardly and inwardly beyond that which the Psalmist could ever have imagined.
Yet, we have not come even close to fully understanding the wholeness of God or experiencing the fullness of His glory. We can’t answer all our questions or comprehend the reason and purpose for everything that happens in the world. All too often we feel we have no authority, no power. After all, if we really were in control, would we not try to stop suffering or find a way to end pain? We don’t even realize how often we cause trouble because we try to be in control. We tempt reality by thinking that we can explain everything with a theory or two. Though we have been given authority over all God’s world, we are just creatures, imperfect and fragile.
We may never have the words to explain the Trinity, to fully describe God or tell others what it means to be a Christian, but we are called to share our faith with the world. It need not be a lengthy dissertation on the meaning of the great doctrines of Christianity. We are called to share our experiences of God with others so that He might work in their lives to spark the faith that will make them part of God's kingdom on earth. Isn't it amazing that God has made us part of this process? The psalmist asks, “What is man, that you think of him?” This passage is attributed to Jesus Christ, but these words are meant for us, too. Not only does God care about everyone and everything He has created, but He has also made us the crown of His creation and given us authority in His Kingdom.
With that authority, however, it is our responsibility to treat it as God would treat it. The wise person is one who will walk according to God’s ways, without abusing or wasting what God has made. The wise person is the one who will seek to understand what God intends for the Creation and to use it to His glory. The wise person will go forth in faith and share the reality of God’s sovereignty and majesty with the world. It won’t be easy. We are tempted to do what we want with what we have been given. We face situations that leave us questioning what God would do. We don’t always understand what God intends, and we fail. Sin plays a role in everything we do, no matter how much we try to avoid sinful behavior. Though saved by grace and sanctified by the Spirit, we are still sinners who make mistakes.
I suppose the greatest mystery is that God loves us anyway and that Jesus Christ died for us. We can’t explain this love with mere human words. We can’t convince people to believe. We must simply live in God’s grace, obeying His Word, and worshipping Him, the whole Godhead as revealed to us in the Trinity.
We celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday as we enter into the Pentecost season because we need to see that God is more than just the Father, just the Son and just the Spirit. He is so great that His name is majestic in all the earth. We need the whole Godhead to do what He has called us to do. We could not have done anything if the whole plan of God had not come to be according to His will. The disciples would not have accomplished anything if Jesus had not gone to heaven and sent the Spirit. This God is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving because His name is majestic in all the earth.
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