Well, we’re certainly in the dog days of summer, aren’t we? Poor Dan Skoff must be getting bored of giving the exact same forecast night after night – “Gonna be another hot one tomorrow!” Have you ever considered the origin of that term, Dog Days? I‘ve used it all my life as a way to describe the hottest part of the year, the time when things move a little slower because the days are long and it’s just too hot to do anything active. I assumed it had something to do with dogs being lazy and lethargic during this period of time, but it actually comes from ancient history. It originated with Sirius, the Dog Star, which is the brightest star in the night sky during the months of July and August. According to Google (did you really think I knew this on my own?), ancient Romans and Greeks believed this star, combined with the sun, added extra heat to the earth, and so this period was originally referred to as “Dog Star Days,” which got shortened over the years to dog days.

This revelation got me thinking about other phrases that we use without knowing where they originated. There are so many! I came across one that particularly piqued my interest when I found out it comes straight from our Bible: “A Drop in the Bucket.” We use this phrase to mean an amount too small to make a difference, something that will not have any kind of significant impact. I’m reminded of that classic Calvin and Hobbes cartoon:

That might certainly be how we feel, at times. But it’s not the way God thinks about us. In Isaiah 40:15, we see these words: “All the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand.” Isaiah is speaking here of God and all the nations of the earth. He’s not saying they are all insignificant; rather, he’s saying that compared to God, even the greatest nations are in his hands. As Old Testament scholar John Oswalt describes it, Isaiah 40 is speaking to the people of Israel, who are a tiny country compared to their enemies and who have every reason to think that these enemies – particularly Babylon – are in control. From the human perspective, that might be true, but from God’s perspective, even Babylon is like a drop in the bucket. This means God is in control, so Israel can trust God’s promises!

We matter to God, and we can find our significance in him. Far from just a “dust speck,” as we look up at the stars in the sky, I believe it’s right to give thanks to our Father that in all of his vast creation, he created you and me and cares about you and me. So much so, in fact, this big God became small; he sent his Son Jesus down from heaven to this insignificant spot on this small planet we call Earth to become one of us, going to the cross for us that we might know life. As Paul so beautifully puts it in Philippians 2:

“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Thank you, God, for Jesus! Thank you, God, for loving me, this drop in the bucket in this universe! May you know this week that you matter to God, you are significant in his eyes, and you can trust him to be walking with you through this life.