Star Gazing

He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. —Psalm 147:4

Alpha Centaurae. Ever heard of it? It is our nearest star other than the sun.  Although it is our nearest star, it still 4½ light years away. That’s a long way. Let me help you visualize the distance. Light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second. If you were to turn on a light switch, and then turn it off in one second, that light could travel around the world 7½ times. Pretty fast, huh? Now think about traveling that fast for 4½ years. That’s a long way! And just think, that’s our closest star! There are gazillions of other stars.

The light of Alpha Centaurae that strikes your eye left the star 4½ years ago. And there are stars out there that are thousands of light years away. A light year is the distance light would travel in one year at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. Mind boggling, isn’t it?

Now ponder this Scripture: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.” (Psalm 139:7-12).

In the great expanse of the universe, there is not a single place you can go that God cannot be. Not a single, solitary place. He knows where you are all the time. You cannot hide from Him. He knows all about you. He knows how you are feeling all the time. He knows your every thought. He knows every word you speak before if ever leaves your mouth. And the most amazing thing of all… HE LOVES YOU ANYWAY!

Does the fact that God is all of that bring comfort, or fear to your soul? Beloved, I pray right now that the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened so that you can truly see how much He loves and cares for you. There is nowhere in the universe that you can go apart from Him. He is always there for you. Always caring for you. Always loving you. You can trust Him. He is a God that can merely speak and all the planets and stars come to order. How awesome He is! And think about this… He knows your name. If He numbers all the stars and calls them each by name, do you not think He knows yours? Why would He care enough to name a big ball of gas and not know your name? You are His ultimate and most precious creation.

One of my remedies for the blues when the storms of life overwhelm me is to go stargazing. I just look up at the stars and ponder. If He can hang all those stars in the sky without a hook, then maybe He can handle my problems as well. I’ll bet He can handle yours, too.

Do you think that you can have a problem so big that God can’t handle it? He’s a pretty big God. The bigger He becomes in your sight the smaller your problems appear. Maybe your problems are not so big after all. The real problem may be that your perception of God is too small. Maybe you need to go stargazing yourself. There’s one special star upon which you need to fix your gaze. His name is Jesus Christ… Superstar!

Blessings,

Kenny