Did you See the Stars, the Moon and the Sky

Psalm 8:3-4

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him

The magnificence of the sky at night is something I will always cherish. Ever since I was a boy, I would sit in the nighttime watching the stars, the moon, the satellites fly by. I have always been a contemplative, one who sees and considers what lies behind. As for me I have always seen God even in my atheistic days when I denied Him. I have loved him for his creativity. I have loved him for his knowledge of me.

As I consider my present life, I can say that God has given me the desires of my heart. There is rest in my circumstances. I have my many spaces for contemplation. I have a front porch that I can sit on to watch the sky at night. Last evening, I sat in the cool of the evening waiting upon the smoky sunset to disappear over the houses across my street. I was amazed at the colours – purples, oranges, blues, and yellows with some reds.

We have a God who can release every colour of the imagination in one glorious moment. He opens up His hand and throws it forth. As the colours fade away, we look a little higher and suddenly a new palette emerges = the dance of the night sky. In Canada this time of year the cool of the evening is setting in. As the stars appear we can feel the chill on our arms and can see a touch of our breath. The horizon look whitish blue and cold.

We had a blood moon in the sky two nights ago. It was a magnificent moon that was full upon the horizon. My five children played in the backyard to the light of that moon. I was out there with them. We were playing spotlight. I had to pretend to not see them running across the yard as they giggled as if they were being sneaky. One boy did manage to hide for 10 minutes without being seen, mostly because I was looking at the heavens, counting the stars, watching the moon, praying to my God, thanking Him for all that He has created.

Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

When I hear people say that there is no God I understand their brokenness, their lusts, and their hatreds, but they will be without excuse. God will not be mocked. Man cannot continue in disbelief and intolerance his whole life. There will come a day of reckoning. God is patient but He is also Just.

sPsalm 86:15 says, “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. “

I will not pretend to understand the graciousness of God. I will not boost in my understanding of God at all. I am now a middle-aged man who still feels like a child in the courts of the Lord.

Like the Prophet Samuel I am a child barely recognizing the voice of God when He speaks. “Here I am God, Speak!”

Two nights ago, I dreamed that I was about to graduate Bible School, which felt very satisfying feeling but, I am now 50 years old, and it has taken this long just to learn a few things about God. I love Him is all I can say but I feel like I barely know Him. My fears keep testing my lack of knowledge of the Lord. Every time I am afraid, I am showing the world and heaven that I don’t know Him in some way, but I want to know Him completely. Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear you. I want to have a visitation that changes me from glory to glory. I want to know you more. This really is the essence of my prayers.

The stars awaken my joy. I feel like I am not alone, and I feel like I am loved. I have a God who places a beautiful painting in front me every time I am aware of my surroundings. My prayer becomes let me always be aware of God, let me aware of Your great creativity. Let me be consumed with seeing Your creative hand in the flowers, the waters, the trees, the hills, and the valleys. May I always breathe a sigh of thankfulness when I see my children’s eyes, their heads, and their hair.

To be aware of God is key to a good life. I really believe that God looks at our thankfulness and visits us in it. He sees those that are thankful for life, and He is glad to spend time with you. He loves it when you notice Him in the things He does. Every artist loves it when people like what they create. It is the way we are.

I know you face things but try to see the bright side of life. You are alive even if it isn’t perfect. You are here. God allowed that. Even the little that you have that is good has been provided to you by His hand. Try to see that. Try to change the way you interact with the good that you have. My grandparents were people who didn’t have much in the world’s eyes, but what they had was good because they thanked God for it. I am glad that I had them as role models. I have more than I could ever ask for or ever imagined.