by Amanda Baker
Psalm 8:1, 3-4
O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
This is a familiar psalm that I have read scores of times in my life. But recently, the Lord encouraged my heart with some new thoughts about how He reveals His glory. The psalm references the glory of God in the heavens and the work of God in carefully and meticulously placing the moon and the stars in their places. I don’t know if you have ever had the picture in your mind of God at creation just flinging the stars across the sky like an artist splattering paint on a blank canvass. That was kind of the picture that I had in mind when I looked in awe at the starlit night sky. But the Psalmist here is particular to write of God’s using His fingers to “ordain” or place carefully the moon and all the stars. When I began to think on this incredibly meticulous task, the next verse came alive to me. The God Who purposefully and particularly placed the billions of stars in their places thinks about me and even takes time to minister to me individually! What an amazing and humbling thought!
But another thought came quickly after these – why do we only see the stars in the night time? If I had done something as incredible as God has done with the stars, I would want them to be seen ALL the time. Now I am no scientist to explain this, but the answer seems simple – it is only in the darkness of night that the light of the stars is revealed for our human eyes to see. Just because we can’t see the stars doesn’t mean they aren’t there. We just have to wait for God to reveal them to us. Psalm 8:1 references God’s “glory above the heavens.” Could it be that sometimes it takes the darkness of the night in our lives to allow God’s glory to be revealed?
I don’t know what is going on in your life today, but I do know that my God cares about the little things in your life and mine – He thinks on us and visits us! Maybe you are in a time of darkness – take some time to look at the “night sky” and see what part of His glory He is trying to reveal to you in your darkness. Then praise Him because He is excellent and worthy of our praise!