Isaiah 66:2
All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
When is the last time you felt truly humbled by God’s creation? Lately, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with outer space. Why now? Well… a Netflix documentary. Sure, I’ve always loved a beautiful starry night, but truth be told, I hadn’t given it much thought since I learned about the eight planets in elementary school (there were nine planets back then!). Now I watch every documentary I can find. It’s not like I want to take my wife to the planetarium on EVERY date night, that would be ridiculous. I realize I’m a little late to the astronomy scene, but what has captured my imagination is the way I see God’s character come alive in each new scientific discovery. We get these small glimpses into the HUGENESS of God’s design.
I remembered something I learned about the sun while sitting by the river the other day. Did you know, scientists believe that photons (particles of lights) spend perhaps millions of years traveling from the core of the sun to its surface? When it finally arrives at the surface, it takes only 8 minutes to travel the 93,000,000 miles from the sun to earth where it makes contact with the lens of your eye, focused on a small spot on the retina. It is then absorbed by a protein inside a cone cell, which sends an electrical signal to the brain, marking the last stop on the photons journey. From the inferno of nuclear fusion deep inside a star, to a gentle ray of light on a warm quiet morning. Maybe that says something about what God is like. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalms 8:3-4 NIV).
The same God who made the infinite heavens and controls the very fabric of time and space itself also desires to know us as sons and daughters. How does one begin to make sense of that? David in Psalm 139 says “God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me to comprehend; how vast their sum is!” (Holman CSB). His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). I find it all very humbling. Thankfully for us, a spirit of humility is one of the very best ways we can come before our heavenly father. It acknowledges our continual need for him. When we come to the Lord in prayer, humility is the perfect starting point because it leads to repentance. A repentant heart is one that is ready to hear from God. Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (NLT).
A state of awe and wonder before God is the perfect starting point for repentance. Repentance gives room for God to work fully in our lives. Why even create the heavens and the earth? Perhaps it’s one more way for our creator to capture our imaginations, share his joy and happiness, and create space for intimate relationship. He knows you; He sees you. The God of the universe wants to spend His time with you.
Man’s scientific search to understand how and why we are here in every way complements our desire to understand what God is like and to know him more fully. As each of us get older it gets easier for us to forget how amazing it is that we are all here in the first place. Perhaps, refreshingly for the first time in a while, I’ve felt totally blown away by God’s design. Allow yourself to feel very small in presence of the Lord. Then think about how huge it is that God has set us apart in creation as carriers of his image. We can seek him, come before him and know him in relationship and see his handiwork reflected in creation. “It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 103:3 NIV).
Daily Prayer
Lord, thank you that you hear our prayers and that we can come to you. Thank you for the worlds that you have created that teach us about what you are like. Give us your thoughts, Lord, and help us to put our lives into an eternal perspective. Thank you that you meet us just as we are today, as imperfect beings, but being renewed each day by your Spirit. By your grace and mercy, let us become fully known in you.
Amen.
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