I love looking at the sky. What an awesome display of God’s power.
Whether it’s a beautiful sunset, a clear blue day, the sunrise over the
ocean, or a full moon rising on a clear night, the sky is a work of
art. Actually it’s the work of one wonderful artist, and that artist is
the great Creator of all things.
The bible says that since the
creation of the world, God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power and
divine nature have been clearly seen so that man is without excuse when
it comes to seeing that there is a God and that He created the universe
(Romans 1:20).
Once my wife and I were vacationing in Chattanooga,
Tennessee and decided to go up on Lookout Mountain. As I walked up to
one of the railings that overlooked the beautiful valley I could see the
river below and a fantastic panoramic scene with mountains off in the
background. I happened to walk up next to a older man, maybe in his
80’s, standing by himself. As I came to the rail, he noticed me nearby
but just kept staring out into the distance. Then, still looking
straight ahead, he said, “How can anyone deny there is a God when you
see this.” He was right. We have no excuse.
Some, however, exchange
the truth for a lie, and worship the creation rather than the Creator
(Romans 1:25). Such is the argument of evolution verses creation. When I
see God’s evidence though, I am compelled to worship Him, to express
reverence and awe to Him. The skies demonstrate His handiwork. They
proclaim the work of His hands and declare His glory (Psalm 19:1). Night
after night the skies display God’s knowledge (Psalm 19:2). What a
wonder it is to look up at the sky and see the dazzling array of stars
that go on forever. Just gazing at the heavens makes you realize how
majestic God is, and how amazing our universe is.
Day Four of
creation was incredible. That is when God made the sun, moon, and stars
(Genesis 1:14-19). On the fourth day of creation, God put the heavenly
bodies in place. All in one day!
There is so much amazement in the
heavens above. First of all, there is the vast expanse of the universe.
Have you ever just looked into the starry night, trying to see past the
stars with wonder at how big the universe is? Where does it end? How far
does it go? I have thought about that many times, but only to come to
the frustrating conclusion that my brain is not able to comprehend it.
If there is an end to the universe, what is on the other side? That,
however, does not make any sense for if there is something on the other
side, it is not really the end at all. On the other hand, if there is no
end, my mind can’t grasp that either. Therefore, the universe is an
unexplained marvel. If you think about it too long, your brain will
hurt. That is because as humans, we simply do not have the mental
capacity to understand it.
I believe there is a reason for the
unexplained night-time sky. It is God’s physical demonstration of a
spiritual concept. By displaying the endless stars, God is showing us
the concept of eternity. We cannot figure out the universe or eternity,
but must trust that God’s promise of eternal life is real. The universe
is a marvelous example of endlessness, and another proof that God is the
all knowing and powerful creator. We can only try to begin to grasp how
vast the knowledge, understanding and creative power of God really is
(Psalm 136:5). We can try to understand, but we will never comprehend
it (Job 38:18).
Another amazing celestial body is the sun. When I
look toward the sun, I’m reminded of God as the wonderful provider of
heat and light. The sun is one way He faithfully sustains us. If the
earth was just a bit closer or father away from the sun, life would not
be sustained, but we are continuously on course. On Day Four the sun
miraculously began to burn. That physical miracle is still burning. It
is almost like the experience Moses had with the burning bush. It was
burning but not consuming itself. The sun burns on.
The sun to me
is also another physical reminder of a spiritual concept. We cannot look
directly into the sun. The same is true with God. No one has actually
seen Him face to face. However, by faith and by the evidence around us,
we know He exists.
God is obviously a God of amazing order. The
critical and precise orbit of the earth around the sun is another
wonder. Life would be snuffed out in no time if the earth’s orbit was
off, but it consistently remains on course. Speaking of the earth, what a
concept! The only way man is physically confined would be to place him
on a sphere, but that is impossible, or is it? I can still not totally
grasp the idea that we live on a sphere. No wonder in Columbus’s day
they thought the earth was flat. It is only logical (except to the point
of trying to figure out where it ends – ouch!). It could only take God
to come up with the round earth idea because our human minds couldn’t
even imagine it. Why don’t we fall off? Oh, I know about gravity, but
that is just another one of God’s incredible inventions. Did it happen
by chance? – no way! Not only is the earth a sphere, but it is spinning
as well! If it was spinning just slightly slower or faster, we couldn’t
function as we do. Yet the glove continues to spin precisely at the
right speed.
Not only is the earth round, but it is floating. How
can something so heavy float? Again, through inspired writings of the
bible, God has given mankind many hints about science. The oldest book
in the bible, Job, talks about the earth being suspended over nothing
(Job 26:7). So once again, man is without excuse in not only know that
there is a God, but in gaining knowledge of how the earth was created.
I
like how God puts a little artistic variety in His creation. For
example, the moon rotates, but ever so slowly. It only turns once approximately every 30 days, but that happens to be the exact time that it takes to go
around the earth one time. So to us, we never see it move. The moon is
always showing its same side to us. You would think it would be off
slightly over the years, but no! Our God is precise.
Another
artistic creation of God, and maybe even a little humor, is the rotation
of the planet Uranus. All the planets rotate like the earth, spinning
on the horizontal axis, except Uranus. It spins on its vertical axis,
like its rolling around the sun! I like to think God saying to us, “OK,
you think you have it figured out, now take a look at this one!”
God
gives us clues through His creation and through His word, the bible. If
only Columbus would have read the bible, he would have known that the
earth was round. The prophet Isaiah, hundreds of years before Christ was
born, writes about the ‘circle of the earth’ (Isaiah 40:22).
Day
four was spectacular also in the fact that the moon was created. “La
bella luna!” (beautiful moon in Italian). I love the moon. I especially
love moonrises over the ocean. I know that I am blessed to be able to
live near the Atlantic Ocean. Years ago, I had a Jeep and owned a permit
that allowed me to drive on the beach at night. One autumn night, I was
on the beach alone except for my dog. It was a quiet night and very
dark. I had gone down on Cape Henlopen beach to do some night surf
fishing. As I parked, I noticed I was very secluded. There was nobody
around as far as I could see in either direction! I had the beach to
myself. Since it is a State Park, in that part of the beach there were
no street lights or house lights around me either.
After I had been
fishing a while, I noticed something strange very far out on the calm
horizon. It looked like a distant ship was on fire! All I could see was
an orange glow. In a few minutes, it was getting worse. Then as it grew
bigger and brighter, I realized it was the moon rising up over the
water! Totally unexpected, I witnesses this beautiful event until it was
far up in the sky, with its reflection skimming over the water toward
me. Ever since I have been hooked. Now I track the moonrise. More than
once I have dragged my family off to the beach on a clear night to watch
a moonrise. It is somewhat unique since conditions need to be right.
The moonrise has to be at a reasonable hour when it is dark, the moon
need to be full, and the sky clear. But when it happens, “la bella
luna!”, it’s spectacular, and it always happens exactly on time. When we
get to the beach knowing the time of the moonrise, we wait anxiously
looking at our watches and sure enough, without fail, it shows up every
time (except the time I was an hour off due to daylight savings time).
You can be sure of one thing, each time I see a moonrise over the ocean,
I take a moment to worship the God of the universe.
It always
amazes me that when I get to the beach for a moonrise, some people could
care less. Many times we will be on the boardwalk, and when it is
almost time for the moonrise, I am anxious and excited, but as I look
around me, most people are walking along without a clue. As a matter of
fact, few people will pay attention to it. Isn’t that the truth when it
comes to God in many people’s lives?
I say look up in the sky.
Become a sky watcher. Gaze and marvel what God can do. Acknowledge Him
and worship Him. Thank Him for His creation and for sustaining us. Each
time you look in the sky, let it prompt you to worship God. Let it
remind you of Him. See the wonder of God. His handiwork is all around
us.
See also Job 26:7-8, Job 38:1-41, Psalm 19:1-6, Psalm
74:16-17, Psalm 89:11-12, Psalm 102:25, Psalm 136:1-9, Isaiah 40:22,
Isaiah 55:10
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