The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. -Psalm 19:1-4
Last year, I wrote a series of blog articles on how creation is speaking to us (The Sea is Calling Part 1, The Sea is Calling Part 2, and The Mountains are Speaking). I wanted to follow those up with another on how the universe reveals some beautiful truths about the God of all creation. As the passage above points out, the heavens and skies are speaking to us about the glory of God!
- The Vastness of God
Often, we get so caught up in our “little” worlds that we forget we are just a very tiny part of a vast universe. While this can make us feel very small, it magnifies just how great God is. When King Solomon was dedicating the new temple in Jerusalem he made mention of the vastness of God in his prayer: But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you (1 Kings 8:27).
Just let that reality sink in! The earth itself is “big”, let alone our own galaxy. To think that there are billions of galaxies and stars more numerous than we can count, let alone see; is overwhelming. But what is more overwhelming is to consider that God is “bigger” even than the universe and that the universe cannot contain Him!
That may be overwhelming, but it also can be endlessly comforting when we apply this truth to our lives. It means that no situation is to big for God to handle. It means no matter how great our need might be; God is always sufficient for all our needs. It means no matter how overwhelmed or perplexed we might be, God is above it all.
For as vast as the universe is, God is even greater! He created it after all, and by his power holds it all together: For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16-17). Take heart, God is greater!
- The Faithfulness of God
This first truth of the vastness of God leads right into this next truth of the faithfulness of God and the promises of God. Scripture is full of promises God has made to us and continually speaks of his faithfulness to us. The vastness of the universe speaks to, and reminds us of the faithfulness and power of God to fulfill every good promise He makes in our lives. Sometimes, looking up to the sky, looking to the heavens, considering the stars in the sky, is exactly what we need to give us new vision and confidence in the power of God to fulfill his promises in our lives.
Consider Abraham. When God told him that his wife Sarah would bear him a son despite their old age and the human impossibility of this; he took Abram outside his tent and told him to look to the sky. Here was the conversation and the result of this visual reflection on the universe: He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6).
Sometimes we need to be “taken outside.” Sometimes we need to “look up.” Sometimes we need the witness of creation to inspire vision, faith and confidence in God’s faithfulness and his promises to us. Scripture is loaded in fact with these reminders from “the heavens.” Consider just one from the book of Isaiah:
To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 40:25-28).
When you are overwhelmed, facing an impossible situation, having a great need, or feeling forgotten; just go outside and look up! If God is bigger than the universe and yet knows each star by name; how much more will He remember you, for you are the crowning work of all his creation! As human beings God has set his affection most tenderly on us, as we alone have been created in his image and likeness! And He loves us so much that He made the ultimate sacrifice, in the person of Jesus Christ, to rescue, redeem and reconcile us to Himself so that we might have eternal life with him. You are the apple of His eye and He will not forget you!
If therefore, he met our deepest and greatest need of forgiveness of sin; how much more will he meet every other need? This is exactly what Romans 8:31-32 says, What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Oh, how He loves you and me! He is faithful to all his promises; for he has power to fulfill all he has promised. He will not forsake us or forget us.
- The Glory of God
There is not much else on earth or in the heavens more breath-taking and beautiful than sunsets or sunrises. Or what about the Northern Lights? Or what about the images of the earth from space? Or pictures from the universe in deep space, showcasing the beauty of galaxies, planets, stars and more?
If the universe is that gloriously beautiful, what does it say to us about God? Scripture in fact tells us there is nothing, and no one, more “glorious” than God himself. Job 25:5 in fact states, God is more glorious than the moon; he shines brighter than the stars.
Just meditate on that for a moment! Imagine how breath-takingly glorious God must be! This is in fact the word used when God reveals himself: the “glory” of God. The reaction of any who have experienced or seen even a glimpse of God in Scripture, have likewise been overwhelmed to the point of not being able to handle it in their physical bodies! (Isaiah 6, Revelation 1, Ezekiel 1, Daniel 10 etc).
There is something in the heart of man that longs for that which is glorious and beautiful. And yet, nothing can satisfy that longing except the creator of beauty himself. Everything else is finite and fleeting; God alone is infinite, eternal and glorious.
The heavens are pointing us to a reality greater than we can possibly imagine or comprehend. They are speaking to us of the vastness of God, the promises of God and the glory of God. They are pointing us to something (or more like someone!) beyond ourselves, beyond our own little worlds, beyond our “small” problems and even beyond the universe itself. It is speaking to us of the faithfulness of God to fulfill every good promise in our lives. It is speaking to us of an eternally glorious God; a God of beauty and delight who alone can satisfy the thirst of our hearts and longing of our hearts.
He alone deserves all our praise, wonder and worship!
“Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.” “Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. -Nehemiah 9:5
Ben Foley 